Project XBY

East Asia & Pacific · GDP rank #24

Hong Kong

HK · HKD @ 0.1276/USD

Tab 08

Pulse

The preceding ~90 days of macro, regulation, product, funding and milestone events. Each item is primary-sourced; no trade-press echo.

  1. 2 weeks agoregulation

    HKMA opens second-batch stablecoin licence consultation

    Following the first-batch grants to HSBC and Anchorpoint Financial in April, HKMA published indicative timetable and supervisory expectations for a second batch of licence applications. Industry consortium activity around HKD- and USD-pegged issuances is picking up; HKMA's Eddie Yue used the 10 April insight piece to underline the focus on transparent reserve-quality and real-economy use cases.

    • #hkma
    • #stablecoin
    • #regulation

    Source: Hong Kong Monetary Authority

  2. 7 weeks agoregulation

    HKMA grants first stablecoin licences to HSBC and Anchorpoint Financial

    HKMA granted the inaugural Stablecoins Ordinance licences to HSBC and Anchorpoint Financial Limited (a Standard Chartered + HKT + Animoca Brands joint venture). HSBC plans to launch a HKD-denominated stablecoin in H2 2026. Of the 36 applicants by the 30 September 2025 deadline, the two grants make Hong Kong the first G20 jurisdiction with a live licensed fiat-backed stablecoin issuance regime.

    • #hkma
    • #stablecoin
    • #hsbc
    • #anchorpoint

    Source: Hong Kong Monetary Authority

  3. 2 months agomilestone

    FPS-PromptPay corridor passes 3 million cumulative transactions

    HKMA confirmed that the FPS-PromptPay cross-boundary corridor (live since December 2023) has cleared more than 3 million transactions since launch. The HK-Thailand pricing pressure has cut the consumer-facing FX markup on the corridor by roughly 200 basis points versus card-rail equivalents.

    • #fps
    • #promptpay
    • #cross-border
    • #gba

    Source: Hong Kong Monetary Authority

  4. 2 months agomilestone

    HKMA closes retail e-HKD work; preparation phase to end H1 2026

    HKMA reiterated that the e-HKD Pilot Programme closed in October 2025 and that preparatory work for any future retail e-HKD issuance — policy, legal and technical foundations — will conclude in H1 2026 with no commitment to launch. The immediate focus is on wholesale e-HKD for financial institutions and on Project Ensemble for tokenised-deposit interoperability.

    • #hkma
    • #e-hkd
    • #cbdc

    Source: Hong Kong Monetary Authority

  5. 3 months agodata

    Virtual-bank cohort aggregate assets pass HK$60bn at end-2024

    HKMA's annual virtual-banking statistics confirmed the eight licensed digital banks held HK$61.8 billion in aggregate assets at end-2024, up 18% year-on-year. Mox Bank's reported first profitable quarter in Q3 2025 marked an inflection point for the cohort; consolidation pressure remains material for sub-scale licensees.

    • #hkma
    • #virtual-banks
    • #data

    Source: Hong Kong Monetary Authority

  6. 3 months agodata

    HKMA: total card volume up 4.2% in 2024 on inbound-tourism rebound

    HKMA's Q4 2024 credit and debit card statistics put total card transactions at 2.22 billion (up 4.2% year-on-year) and total card value at HK$1.07 trillion. Inbound-tourist spend — particularly via UnionPay QuickPass and Alipay — was the largest single driver; Octopus volumes held steady at 12.4 million transactions per day.

    • #hkma
    • #cards
    • #data
    • #tourism

    Source: Hong Kong Monetary Authority