MixCare Health, a Hong Kong-based digital health and wellness platform, has partnered with Pacific Prime, an international health insurance broker and employee benefits specialist. The collaboration enables Pacific Prime’s 15,000 Hong Kong employee benefit customers to access MixCare’s AI-powered digital health and wellness platform, which includes more than 4,000 individual well-being services in the country. Integrating the platform of MixCare into the services of Pacific Prime allows convenient access through a Single Sign-On (SSO) login, facilitating a seamless user experience without the ..read more

Mox Bank announced that it has tripled its revenue in 2023, driven by an increase in its customer base, deposits, and loan portfolio. The growth was influenced by new services such as “Best In Town Unlimited CashBack,” “Upfront Interest in Cash and Instant Asia Miles,” and the expansion of Mox Invest’s trading services for U.S. and Hong Kong equities and funds. Barbaros Uygun “2023 was a significant year for Mox, marking substantial progress toward our vision of democratising finance. Our products and expanded offerings have resonated with our customers, empowering them to build their finan ..read more

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced the creation of the Project Ensemble Architecture Community (the Community), a collaborative initiative to shape standards and provide suggestions to support the development of Hong Kong’s tokenisation market. The Community aims to develop industry standards to support interoperability among wholesale Central Bank Digital Currency (wCBDC), tokenised money, and tokenised assets. It will initially focus on establishing a mechanism to support seamless interbank settlement of tokenised deposits through wCBDC for tokenised asset transactio ..read more

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and Shenzhen authorities have initiated the pilot launch of the Shenzhen-Hong Kong cross-boundary data validation platform.  This platform employs blockchain technology and data coding, such as hash values, to verify documents without the need for transferring or storing original documents across borders. The project aligns with ongoing collaborative efforts between the HKMA and Mainland authorities to promote fintech innovation and secure data exchange between Guangdong and Hong Kong, while adhering to existing regulatory framew ..read more

Ant Group, a Chinese tech giant Alibaba subsidiary, announced the expansion of its cross-border payments solution, Alipay+, into new global markets, including Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America. Introduced in 2020, Alipay+ facilitates international transactions by allowing users to make payments abroad using their home country’s mobile apps via QR code scans. Douglas Feagin “What we found is that people want to use their home e-wallets when they travel abroad. So they don’t want to have to load their card into another app that they don’t know as well,” said Douglas Feagin, Senior V ..read more

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) is set to replace the term “virtual bank” with “licensed digital bank” for the eight branchless lenders operating in the city to boost public confidence and eliminate negative connotations associated with the term. This change aims to eliminate the negative implications associated with the term in Chinese, where ‘virtual’ can suggest ‘fictional’. Arthur Yuen Kwok-hang, deputy CEO of the HKMA, explained that the current Chinese translation might impact public perception negatively. Arthur Yuen “The name change in English will align with the Chinese ter ..read more

Tiger Brokers (HK) has launched virtual asset trading services on its Tiger Trade platform, making it one of the first online fintech brokers in Hong Kong to combine traditional securities and virtual assets trading on a unified platform, according to the company. Professional investors can now trade 18 virtual assets, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, as well as stocks, options, futures, US Treasury bonds, funds, and other global assets from a single account. According to the company, the service operates under stringent local regulations, including a recently upgraded Type 1 license and a part ..read more

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has released the Hong Kong Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance (Hong Kong Taxonomy). This publication aims to enhance informed decision-making in green and sustainable finance and to facilitate related financial flows. The HKMA has developed this green classification framework after releasing a discussion paper in May 2023, seeking feedback from stakeholders on a prototype. The feedback was largely positive, with stakeholders supporting the clearer definitions of green products, enhanced interoperability, and reduced risks of greenwashing provided by the pr ..read more

Cyberport, and Cisco signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enhance artificial intelligence (AI), future-ready networks, and cybersecurity capabilities in Hong Kong. This partnership aims to boost innovation and strengthen the digital economy. Under the MoU, both parties will jointly establish an AI lab at Cyberport, focusing on enhancing AI network technologies to improve performance, adaptability, and efficiency. The lab is a strategic move to drive innovation and support the digital economy in Hong Kong. Additionally, the partnership will focus on cultivating technology talent and en ..read more

The Hong Kong Stock Exchange now lists the Bosera HashKey Bitcoin ETF and Bosera HashKey Ether ETF. This move introduces some of the first Bitcoin and Ether spot ETFs in a major Asian financial center. These ETFs are managed by Bosera Asset Management (International) Co., Limited, serving as the Investment Manager, and HashKey Capital Limited, acting as the Sub-Investment Manager. The ETFs’ debut in Hong Kong has been met with positive reception, with early trading showing a climb of over three percent for the Bitcoin-focused funds. Offering a unique ‘in-kind’ subscription mechanism, these ETF ..read more