Xu Zhengyu: Plans to further expand the current tax exemption scope to emerging categories such as digital assets.

According to a report by 21st Century Business Herald on November 19, the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury of Hong Kong, Xu Zhengyu, stated, “We are actively attracting family offices to settle and continuously optimizing tax exemption policies. Next year, we will submit a bill to the Legislative Council, planning to further expand the current scope of tax exemptions from family offices and funds to emerging product categories such as private credit, carbon credits, and digital assets.”

It also stated, “Our goal in developing financial technology is very clear: it is not technology for technology's sake, but to enhance the efficiency of economic activities through technological applications, serving the real economy. Asset tokenization is a very good example. We are exploring how to 'tokenize' stable cash flows, such as international shipping rents, and place them on the blockchain for investors to subscribe to. This model not only creates new investment products but also utilizes blockchain technology to achieve asset traceability.”

Regarding stablecoins, relevant laws have already been passed, and we are currently reviewing license applications, with the goal of starting issuance next year. However, we must be clear that stablecoins are not a tool for speculation, but are intended to address pain points in the real economy, particularly in cross-border payments. Therefore, the initial issuance volume will be very limited, and regulation will be very prudent.