5 h. ago Economist Huang Yiping floats Hong Kong as stablecoin staging ground

Issuing a stablecoin pegged to the offshore yuan in Hong Kong may be more feasible than in mainland China due to the latter’s capital controls, a central bank adviser has said. The comments from Huang Yiping, also dean of Peking University’s National School of Development, came as worries arise in Beijing’s policy circles that Washington could gain an upper hand through the cryptocurrency offshoot as a means of consolidating US dollar dominance. “As China’s capital account is not fully...

Politics

7 h. ago China's tech giants lobby for offshore yuan stablecoin, sources say

China's tech giants lobby for offshore yuan stablecoin, sources say  Reuters

Politics

15 h. ago Mainland digital yuan partner signs deal to develop stablecoin tech in Hong Kong

A Beijing-based fintech services provider, which has provided billing systems for China’s digital yuan, has signed a strategic partnership with a Hong Kong firm to tap stablecoin and virtual asset business opportunities, in the latest sign of mainland interest in the city’s recent moves to license cryptocurrency issuers. Shenzhen-listed North King Information Technology said on Wednesday that it had struck a deal with Hong Kong-listed GoFintech Quantum Innovation to develop infrastructure to...

Politics

15 h. ago Mainland Chinese digital yuan partner to develop stablecoin tech in Hong Kong

A Beijing-based fintech services provider, which has provided billing systems for China’s digital yuan, has signed a strategic partnership with a Hong Kong firm to tap stablecoin and virtual asset business opportunities, in the latest sign of mainland interest in the city’s recent moves to license cryptocurrency issuers. Shenzhen-listed North King Information Technology said on Wednesday that it had struck a deal with Hong Kong-listed GoFintech Quantum Innovation to develop infrastructure to...

Politics

5 d. ago China’s stablecoin edge? WeChat and Alipay, says top economist

China already has de facto stablecoins in the form of WeChat Pay and Alipay, a top economist at the country’s leading investment bank has argued – amid growing calls for Beijing to quickly adapt to the global rise of digital assets. “From an economic perspective, money based on third-party payment platforms functions much like stablecoins – and China holds a comparative advantage in this area, having already built a relatively mature regulatory framework,” said Peng Wensheng, chief economist at...

Economics

6 d. ago China's Tech Giants Tempted Back From the Cold and Into M&A Deals

China's Tech Giants Tempted Back From the Cold and Into M&A Deals  Bloomberg.com

Politics

6 d. ago Decoding the future of China’s C919 jet in a shifting aviation landscape

The C919, China’s first indigenous narrowbody jet, embodies Beijing’s progress in pursuing technology self-sufficiency and holds the potential to reshape the global aviation market, but it faces a host of difficulties in challenging established giants Boeing and Airbus. In the latest China Future Tech webinar, Jason Li Hanming, a US-based aviation analyst, along with SCMP reporters Frank Chen, William Zheng and moderator Ralph Jennings, discussed questions surrounding the home-grown Chinese...

Politics

7 d. ago Hong Kong makes public stablecoin adoption a top priority in digital asset push

The Hong Kong government has pledged to promote the public adoption of licensed stablecoins, unveiling a broad set of new digital asset (DA) policies as the city seeks to cement its role as a global cryptocurrency hub while serving as a test bed for Beijing’s fintech aspirations. In the “Policy Statement 2.0 on the Development of Digital Assets in Hong Kong” released on Thursday, the government called for market proposals to test stablecoin applications in public scenarios and a legislative...

Politics

9 d. ago Are stablecoins the future? Don’t bank on it, warns the bank for central banks

With some major economies leaping onto the stablecoin train – or being urged to do so, to further globalise their currencies – others are mulling whether getting on board would be akin to either riding the gravy train or feeling it fail to gather steam. Now, the international financial organisation known as the “bank for central banks” has waded into the stablecoin debate as the buzzword gathers momentum. In a “special chapter” released on Tuesday in advance of Sunday’s release of its Annual...

Events

2 w. ago Hong Kong could serve as stablecoin test bed to raise yuan’s profile

Hong Kong could serve as a stablecoin test bed to boost the internationalisation of the yuan as Beijing puts more focus on the digital version of its currency, according to the chairman and CEO of HashKey Group. “Due to its ‘one country, two systems’ characteristics, Hong Kong’s stablecoins can serve as a testing ground for the mainland, providing both experience and lessons,” said Xiao Feng, who heads one of the city’s licensed cryptocurrency exchange operators, on Wednesday. Earlier in the...

Politics

2 w. ago Baidu ramps up AI hiring as China faces talent crunch, joining other tech giants

Chinese internet search giant Baidu is accelerating its hunt for artificial intelligence (AI) talent with its largest-ever recruitment drive focused on the industry, as technology giants race to secure scarce expertise in the fast-growing sector. The Beijing-based firm said in a statement that job openings in its so-called AIDU annual recruitment drive – an initiative to attract and develop future AI tech leaders – had surged 60 per cent this year. The company did not specify the total number of...

Politics

2 w. ago New stablecoin law to enhance Hong Kong’s financial appeal to global issuers: Chan

The expected increase in market demand for stablecoins will encourage licensed institutions overseas to issue such cryptocurrencies in Hong Kong, boosting competitiveness, according to the city’s financial chief as it prepares for its regulatory regime to take effect in August. In his weekly blog on Sunday, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said that the city market value of stablecoins globally was estimated at around US$240 billion, with trading volume exceeding US$20 trillion last...

Politics

2 w. ago Toyota is teaming up with China’s biggest tech giants to gain an edge in EVs

Toyota is teaming up with China’s biggest tech giants to gain an edge in EVs  Electrek

Politics

3 w. ago China’s Ant International to seek stablecoin licence in Hong Kong

Fintech firm Ant International, the global affiliate of Chinese tech giant Ant Group, said it would apply for a stablecoin issuer licence in Hong Kong once the new ordinance governing fiat-backed cryptocurrencies comes into effect in August. “We welcome the passage of the Stablecoins Bill and hope to contribute more to the city’s vision as a global hub for next-gen finance,” Ant International said in a statement on Thursday. “We plan to apply for the fiat-referenced stablecoins issuer’s...

Politics

3 w. ago Ant International and Ant Digital to seek stablecoin licences in Hong Kong

Singapore-based Ant International and the Hangzhou-based Ant Digital, two affiliates of Chinese tech giant Ant Group, have announced plans to apply for stablecoin issuer licences in Hong Kong once the new ordinance governing fiat-backed cryptocurrencies takes effect in August. “We welcome the passage of the Stablecoins Bill and hope to contribute more to the city’s vision as a global hub for next-gen finance,” Ant International, a spin-off of Ant’s global operations, said in a statement on...

Politics

3 w. ago Hong Kong’s stablecoin law opens floodgates for boom in digital assets: brokers

Hong Kong has surged ahead of its global rivals with its landmark stablecoin law, setting the stage for a boom in digital assets and an injection of fresh liquidity into the market, according to brokers. “We’re seeing a significant trend in investments related to stablecoins on our platform, which highlights the growing importance of this sector,” said Daniel Tse, managing director of Futu Securities International, Hong Kong’s largest online brokerage firm, in a written interview on...

Events

3 w. ago China Renaissance’s investment in stablecoin issuer Circle pays off

China Renaissance, which has funded many leading Chinese technology firms, made another winning bet after shares of stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Group more than doubled on their debut in New York. The Chinese investment bank said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Friday that it had invested in Circle, which was founded in 2013, in 2018 through its Huaxing New Economy Fund. The investment reflected its “strong confidence in the growth prospects of the digital asset industry”,...

Economics

last month With Hong Kong’s stablecoin law, mainland firms are preparing for a market boom

Hong Kong’s move to legalise stablecoins – cryptocurrencies that maintain a fixed value by being pegged to a reference asset – is grabbing the attention of mainland institutions, as a leading Chinese brokerage predicts a boom in tokenised real-world assets (RWA) in the city. While Beijing has remained largely quiet on Hong Kong’s new stablecoin bill in the two weeks since it was passed, paving the way for the issuance of such assets in the city, discussions about the market and geopolitical...

Economics