Hong Kong's Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Christopher Hui, stated today (January 30) at a Legislative Council Financial Affairs Committee policy briefing that 2026 marks the beginning of the country's 15th Five-Year Plan. The Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB) will continue to uphold the spirit of innovation and reform, proactively align with national development strategies, and consolidate and enhance Hong Kong's advantages as an international financial center. The Stablecoin Ordinance was formally implemented in August last year, introducing a licensing regime for fiat-referenced stablecoin issuers in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) is currently processing relevant license applications. Additionally, Hui mentioned that the FSTB and the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) jointly published a consultation conclusion in December last year regarding legislative proposals for establishing a regulatory regime for virtual asset trading and custodial service providers and are currently formulating the details of the relevant regulatory system. The FSTB and the SFC will also conduct further public consultation on the regulatory regimes for service providers offering advice on virtual assets and for virtual asset management service providers, aiming to submit bills to the Legislative Council within this year for the regulatory frameworks covering these four types of service providers.
First, in consolidating the status as an international financial center: (a) Continuously strengthening the stock market: Hong Kong's stock market remained robust last year. The FSTB will continue to promote the implementation of various measures to enhance the listing mechanism and stock market operations, including assisting mainland technology companies in raising capital in Hong Kong through the "Fast Track for Tech Companies"; improving the main board listing and structured product issuance mechanisms; optimizing the listing rules for weighted voting rights (WVR); exploring shortening the stock settlement cycle from the current T+2 to T+1; and promoting more overseas enterprises to conduct secondary listings in Hong Kong and assisting US-listed Chinese companies in choosing Hong Kong as the preferred location for their homecoming listings. (b) Strengthening the position as an international asset and wealth management center: The FSTB will strive to submit legislative proposals for further optimizing the preferential tax regimes for funds, single-family offices, and carried interest to the Legislative Council for deliberation in the first half of this year. The FSTB also plans to submit an amendment bill to the Legislative Council within the year to introduce a statutory framework for real estate investment trusts (REITs) concerning mandatory acquisitions during takeovers and unit repurchases, as well as schemes of arrangement or compromise. This will further facilitate the privatization and corporate reorganization of REITs in a clear and orderly manner. (c) Enhancing the role as an international risk management center: To promote insurance capital participation in infrastructure financing, the FSTB will amend legislation this year to lower capital requirements for infrastructure investments and provide targeted support for local projects. The FSTB will continue to promote the development of the captive insurance and reinsurance industries. Furthermore, the industry announced the establishment of an independently operated, commercially-run marine specialty risk pool in November last year, which is expected to begin providing coverage for Hong Kong and Mainland vessels within this year. (d) Building a world-leading bond market: The SFC and the HKMA announced the "Fixed Income and Currency Market Development Blueprint" last year, strategically positioning Hong Kong as a global fixed income and currency center and proposing key measures around four pillars. Among these, the SFC commenced a feasibility study in December to explore developing and establishing a dedicated electronic fixed income and currency trading platform for Hong Kong. (e) Deepening "Connectivity" schemes: The FSTB will continue discussions with relevant Mainland authorities to implement the launch of offshore Chinese government bond futures in Hong Kong and expand the types of interest rate derivatives under the Swap Connect. The FSTB will strive to submit an amendment bill to the Legislative Council in the first half of this year to implement a new arrangement for paying stamp duty on RMB-counter stocks in RMB. (f) Continuously elevating the accounting profession: The FSTB will continue to promote the development of the accounting profession and is also consulting with the Accounting and Financial Reporting Council (AFRC) on proposals for its long-term funding model.
Second, in accelerating the development of new growth areas, the FSTB will: (a) Accelerate the establishment of an international gold trading market and promote commodity trading: The FSTB has set a target to expand gold storage capacity in Hong Kong to over 2,000 tonnes within three years, aiming to establish Hong Kong as a regional gold storage hub; promote the establishment or expansion of refineries by gold merchants in Hong Kong, and has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Shenzhen Local Financial Regulatory Bureau to support, in accordance with laws and regulations, Hong Kong gold merchants in utilizing gold refining facilities established in Shenzhen through processing trade cooperation, refining gold, and then exporting it to Hong Kong for trading and delivery purposes. The FSTB will vigorously promote cooperation between the Shanghai and Hong Kong gold markets, having signed a cooperation agreement with the Shanghai Gold Exchange at the Asian Financial Forum this past Monday, with the aim of jointly participating in and expanding the country's share and pricing influence in the international gold market. The FSTB has established a wholly government-owned company as the governance body for Hong Kong's Gold Central Clearing System, targeting the commencement of trial operations for the clearing system within this year. Regarding commodity trading, there are currently 15 London Metal Exchange (LME)-approved warehouses operating in Hong Kong. The FSTB will support the industry in establishing more approved warehouses. HKEX will also deepen connectivity developments with the Guangzhou Futures Exchange and other Mainland commodity markets. The Commodity Strategy Committee, led by the Financial Secretary, held its first meeting in December last year, bringing together industry representatives to strengthen the top-level design of commodity policies. (b) Steadily develop fintech: The Stablecoin Ordinance was formally implemented in August last year, introducing a licensing regime for fiat-referenced stablecoin issuers in Hong Kong. The HKMA is currently processing relevant license applications. Additionally, the FSTB and the SFC jointly published a consultation conclusion in December last year regarding legislative proposals for establishing a regulatory regime for virtual asset trading and custodial service providers and are currently formulating the details of the relevant regulatory system. The FSTB and the SFC will also conduct further public consultation on the regulatory regimes for service providers offering advice on virtual assets and for virtual asset management service providers, aiming to submit bills to the Legislative Council within this year for the regulatory frameworks covering these four types of service providers. The FSTB will submit legislative proposals to the Legislative Council this year to implement the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) and related amendments to the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), aiming to commence automatic exchange of tax information related to crypto-asset transactions with other tax jurisdictions from 2028, supporting international efforts to combat cross-border tax evasion. The FSTB is currently gathering public views on the legislative proposals. (c) Advance the development of green and sustainable finance: In sustainable assurance, the AFRC launched a three-month public consultation on proposals for a local regulatory framework in December last year, with results expected to be announced in the second half of this year. The AFRC will fully consider feedback from stakeholders to formulate a credible and practical regulatory framework. Regarding carbon market development, HKEX will continue to strengthen pilot cooperation with the carbon market in the Greater Bay Area. The FSTB will also jointly study with relevant Mainland regulatory authorities matters related to the country's participation in international carbon markets.
Third, the FSTB will drive efforts to "attract inbound investment and facilitate outbound expansion," deepening international engagement and cooperation, including: (a) Attracting enterprises and capital to Hong Kong: The company re-domiciliation mechanism has received a very positive market response since its implementation in mid-May last year. As of late January this year, 14 re-domiciliation applications have been approved, and the Companies Registry is processing nearly 20 other applications. The FSTB will continue external promotion and provide support. The FSTB will continue to promote the Hong Kong platform to issuers and capital from emerging markets, encourage more overseas enterprises to conduct secondary listings in Hong Kong, and incentivize more asset companies to issue products locally that facilitate allocation to the Hong Kong market. (b) Promoting investment attraction: The Hong Kong government has established a Steering Committee on Attracting Strategic Enterprises, led by the Financial Secretary, to study suitable preferential policies to attract high-value-added industries and high-potential enterprises to establish a presence in Hong Kong. The FSTB is studying appropriate tax incentive proposals and more flexible mechanisms for formulating tax concessions. (c) Leveraging the role as a platform for "going global": The FSTB is determined to attract more Mainland and overseas enterprises to set up corporate treasury centers in Hong Kong and is currently studying the optimization of relevant tax deduction measures. (d) Deepening international engagement and cooperation: Hong Kong will host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Finance Ministers' Meeting for the first time in October this year. The FSTB will leverage Hong Kong's strengths as an international financial center to showcase its comprehensive development in economic and financial aspects to the international community, highlighting Hong Kong's roles as a "super connector" and "super value-adder," and better integrating into and serving the national development strategy. In November last year, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) announced plans to set up an office in Hong Kong. The FSTB is coordinating with the AIIB's needs to provide necessary support. The FSTB will also continue to host major financial events, including the recently concluded Asian Financial Forum and the "Wealth for Good in Hong Kong" summit, and promote Hong Kong's advantages through overseas visits. In supporting the local economy, the FSTB has additionally reserved HKD 30 billion to increase capital works project expenditure over the next two to three years to support the local construction industry; and will reduce water charges, sewage charges, and trade effluent surcharges for non-domestic users, and exempt various license fees for one year.
Finally, concerning initiatives that benefit people's livelihood: (a) Reforming the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) system: The government, together with the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority (MPFA), will continue to arrange for the remaining MPF schemes to transition to the eMPF Platform and ensure the platform is robust, reliable, secure, and user-friendly. The legislative amendment work providing the legal basis for the first phase of the MPF "full portability" scheme was completed last year and is expected to be implemented within this year. Preparatory work for the second phase has begun, with the target of consulting the Financial Affairs Committee in the fourth quarter of this year and submitting an amendment bill to the Legislative Council in the first half of next year. (b) Strengthening the regulation of licensed money lenders: Another matter of significant relevance to people's livelihood concerns how the FSTB will strengthen the regulation of licensed money lenders. Public consultation was completed last year, and the FSTB will publish a consultation conclusion in March this year. The FSTB will fully consider the feedback received to finalize the relevant measures. (c) Encouraging childbirth: The government is drafting an amendment bill to extend the period for enjoying an additional child allowance for the first child from one year to two years. The FSTB plans to submit the relevant bill to the Legislative Council for deliberation in the first half of this year.
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