Lu Control (formerly Lufax) announced on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that it has entered into a share purchase agreement with Yizhangtong Financial Technology Co., Ltd. (as the seller) and Ping An Yizhangtong Bank (Hong Kong) Limited (a virtual bank). Accordingly, the seller conditionally agreed to sell, and the Company conditionally agreed to purchase all the issued shares of Jin Yi Tong Limited (as the target company), an indirectly held subsidiary of the virtual bank, through sale and purchase under the terms and conditions of the share purchase agreement, for a cash consideration of HKD 933 million. Upon completion, the target company and other member companies of the target group will become subsidiaries of the Company, and their financial statements will be consolidated into the accounts of the Group.

Carrie Lam, the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, stated in the "Chief Executive's 2023 Policy Address" that she will implement a HKD 30 million capital investor immigration plan and restore investment immigration after 8 years. One of the "Big Four" accounting firms, PwC, has revealed that it has already received inquiries from clients. Hong Kong Legislative Councilor Holden Chow believes that the government can clarify the scope of investment assets, such as listing Bitcoin traded on licensed virtual asset trading platforms as financial products, which should theoretically be allowed. PwC Hong Kong tax partner Wang Xiaoyan hopes that the government will expand the categories of assets and income eligible for tax incentives, which currently do not include investment categories such as art, wine, and virtual assets.

Hong Kong resumes its investment immigration policy after an 8-year hiatus, but real estate investment is not allowed and mainland Chinese citizens are not included. Wang Zhiwei, the head of tax planning for family-owned businesses and private wealth in China and Hong Kong at PwC, said in an interview that during the suspension of Hong Kong's investment immigration program, clients have been inquiring about when it will be reinstated. Due to Hong Kong's low tax rates and lack of inheritance tax, becoming a tax resident in Hong Kong is attractive to high-end clients, even if the threshold is raised to HKD 30 million. Investment immigrants must stay for 7 years to enjoy permanent residency rights. Some clients have asked whether Hong Kong can shorten the time period like other regions, but Wang Zhiwei believes that this is a rule that Hong Kong has always followed and is unlikely to change. Legislative Councilor in the technology and innovation sector, Charles Mok, hopes that the government can clarify the scope of assets, such as listing bitcoins traded on licensed virtual asset exchanges as financial products, which should theoretically be allowed. Some voices are calling for buying property to also be eligible to stimulate the property market. He takes a neutral stance on this, but the government has indicated that financial products related to real estate, such as real estate investment trusts (REITs), are included. (Hong Kong Economic Journal)

Hong Kong law enforcement agencies conducted the "Diamond Shield" operation from November 5th to 11th to crack down on online investment scams. A total of 223 people were arrested, including 157 men and 66 women, who are suspected of committing crimes such as "obtaining property by deception", "fraud" and "money laundering", with ages ranging from 18 to 69 years old, involving 265 cases with a total amount of HK$180 million. During the operation, about HK$3 million in criminal proceeds were successfully frozen, and a large number of mobile phones, bank documents, and withdrawal cards were seized. There were a total of 328 victims in the case, including 143 men and 185 women, with ages ranging from 19 to 80 years old. One of the female victims was an 80-year-old engineer who had worked in elevator design. She was deceived by fraudsters posing as a senior analyst of digital assets in a bank and eventually lost over HK$9.1 million in virtual currency investment.

Swiss financial giant UBS has started offering encrypted ETF services to high net worth clients in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong Investment Promotion Agency announced that it will assist Canadian STO company CoinstreetPRO in setting up its Asian headquarters in Hong Kong. The company's business covers multiple digital asset fields, and one of its subsidiaries, High Pu Technology Finance (Hong Kong) Limited, is the first company in Hong Kong to be licensed specifically for security token issuance services. Utilizing Hong Kong's thriving financial technology ecosystem and superior regulatory system, it provides brokerage and distribution services for security token issuance to professional investors defined by Hong Kong law. Dr. Jiang Xueli, Assistant Director of the Investment Promotion Agency, stated that the Hong Kong government is committed to establishing and promoting a sustainable financial technology landscape, and Hong Kong is an ideal base for digital financial service providers to expand their business in the region.

Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po stated that as a participant, contributor and beneficiary of the Belt and Road Initiative, Hong Kong will work together with ministers from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt to discuss the role and cooperation opportunities of Hong Kong and the Middle East as regional hubs to promote the continuous development of the Belt and Road Initiative. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has signed a memorandum of understanding with the United Arab Emirates to strengthen bilateral relations and cooperation, and to promote the sustainable development of the financial services industry in both places, including policy communication, knowledge exchange and cooperation opportunities in various areas such as family offices, financial technology, virtual assets, green and sustainable finance.

Hong Kong's Financial Affairs and Treasury Bureau announced the "Three Major Measures for Linking Financial Technology to Benefit the Development of the Real Economy," including the establishment of a new comprehensive fund platform for retail fund distribution, welcoming the cross-border use of digital RMB, promoting virtual assets and Web3.0-related applications and innovations in the real economy, and further improving the regulatory framework. Regarding the third measure, the document supports providing appropriate guidance and support through policies and a comprehensive regulatory framework. The government encourages market participants to explore the potential of Web3.0 underlying technologies to empower applications and innovations related to the real economy, bringing tangible benefits to the real economy, such as reducing costs, improving efficiency, and better serving the needs of the market for investment and financing. In terms of regulation, the focus is on keeping up with the latest market developments and further improving the regulatory framework.

Jiang Xue, Assistant Director of the Hong Kong Investment Promotion Agency, stated that startups, technology giants, investors, regulatory agencies, and users are all important stakeholders driving the development of Web3.0. Web3.0 has diverse application scenarios, not limited to digital entertainment or virtual assets. From finance, business, trade, supply chain management, to daily life and other fields, Web3.0 will bring changes in the short and long term. Therefore, we have been building the Web3 ecosystem in an open and orderly manner. In economic terms, the Web3.0 ecosystem can enable Hong Kong to maintain its leading position in financial technology, attract more companies in the relevant industry chains to settle in Hong Kong with an innovative and open environment, including a large amount of funds and related talents, and thus drive the overall economy in the long term.

Brian Roberts, the head of securities product development at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, stated that the Hong Kong ETF market maintained steady growth in the first three quarters of this year, with an average daily trading volume increasing by 30% to 14.2 billion yuan compared to the previous year. During this period, a total of 11 new products were launched, bringing the total number of products to 175. Themed ETFs continue to be popular, with technology-themed ETFs particularly favored by the market, mainly due to the trend of artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency.