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.

Ashley Alder, the CEO of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, stated in an international interview that Hong Kong is considering allowing retail investors to participate in spot cryptocurrency ETFs if regulatory issues are satisfied. We welcome proposals that use innovative technology to enhance efficiency and customer experience, and we are willing to try as long as new risks are resolved. Our approach is consistent regardless of the asset.

Di Gang, deputy director of the Digital Currency Research Institute of the People's Bank of China, mentioned that the authorities had conducted some enterprise research earlier and found that many enterprises had problems such as single channels in international trade, high costs, and low efficiency. Some enterprises expressed their desire to participate in bilateral trials similar to those between mainland China and Hong Kong, using digital renminbi to reduce cross-border costs. He believes that the two places can study the cross-border payment applications of digital renminbi in various bulk commodity trades or service trades under the bilateral cooperation framework. Di Gang mentioned at the Hong Kong Fintech Week Forum that the digital renminbi application has supported mobile phone number registration accounts in more than 100 countries and regions. In order to facilitate the public to open wallets, the application supports the association of overseas VISA, MasterCard, and wallets, and recharges the wallet. Hong Kong users can also use local bank accounts in Hong Kong to recharge the wallet through Transfer Express, and the process does not charge any handling fees.

Xing Guiwei, Vice President of Bank of China Hong Kong, said that Bank of China Hong Kong is currently the only financial institution that provides cross-border RMB pilot projects. In the past two years, it has built the entire process of cross-border RMB payment. At the end of last year, it was approved by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority to launch a digital RMB sandbox test. In July and September of this year, it conducted large-scale promotion of cross-border RMB applications for customers in the north and south, respectively, achieving phased results and progress. He disclosed at the Hong Kong Fintech Week forum that so far, Bank of China can support more than 300 merchants to accept digital RMB, and mentioned that since September, 11,000 Hong Kong customers have opened digital RMB wallets.

On November 4th, at the "Web3 Scholars Summit" hosted by DRK Lab, Professor Zhao Ruheng, Director of Cyberport and Vice President (Research and Innovation) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, delivered the opening speech, stating that the purpose of this summit is to promote innovation and application development in the field of Web3 scholars, including support and cultivation for young scholars to promote academic research and innovation. The current policies and regulatory framework of the Hong Kong government are aimed at promoting the sustainable development of the virtual asset market, while providing more business and investment opportunities. We hope that everyone will work together to build a sustainable international digital industry and contribute to the development of Hong Kong.

Chen Haolian, Deputy Director of Financial and Treasury Bureau of Hong Kong, said that the third generation of the Internet (Web 3.0) can solve many financial transaction and business operation problems, reduce costs and improve efficiency, and the Special Administrative Region government embraces relevant opportunities. He mentioned that many European financial technology companies are interested in developing in Hong Kong and entering the Asian and mainland markets through Hong Kong. He emphasized that Hong Kong's regulatory path in the relevant field is clear and can make enterprises develop their business with peace of mind. Chen Haolian said at the Financial Technology Week Forum that in the future, the regulatory framework will be further improved according to market development, including expanding the regulation of off-exchange trading of virtual assets. The Financial Treasury Bureau and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority will also issue consultation papers on the regulatory system for stablecoin issuers to collect opinions from the industry and the public. The authorities also consulted the industry on guidelines for banks to provide virtual asset custody services, hoping to fully protect customer assets. He also mentioned that the Securities and Futures Commission issued a circular yesterday on the tokenization of assets to clarify regulatory expectations.

On November 3rd, Xiao Feng, Chairman of Wanxiang Blockchain and CEO of HashKey Group, officially announced at the Hong Kong Fintech Week that the "2024 Hong Kong Web3 Carnival" jointly organized by Wanxiang Blockchain Laboratory and HashKey Group and hosted by W3ME will be held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center 3FG from April 6th to 9th, 2024. The first Hong Kong Web3 Carnival was held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center from April 12th to 15th, 2023. As one of the largest Web3 events in the world, there were nearly 200 peripheral activities during the carnival, with a total of more than 50,000 offline participants, attracting more than 300 influential speakers from around the world, and over 100 popular projects exhibited, which was hailed as a milestone event in the development of Hong Kong's Web3 industry.

It was reported by the Hong Kong Economic Journal that retail investors can now participate in "securities tokenization" under specific circumstances based on the new guidelines issued by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission. The report pointed out that the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong issued a circular yesterday after the market closed to replace the 2019 STO (Security Token Offering) statement. It will no longer regard all security tokens as "complex products". For traditional securities packaged as tokens, such as bonds or funds, the restriction of "not limited to professional investors" can be revoked to allow retail investors to participate.

Hong Kong Customs Chief, Hermes Tang, and South Korean Customs Commissioner, Ko Kwang-hyo, attended the 34th Hong Kong and South Korean Customs Cooperation Meeting held in Seoul. During the meeting, Tang emphasized that international law enforcement cooperation is crucial in the face of new challenges in drug trafficking, combating money laundering, and protecting intellectual property rights, especially in dealing with financial crimes involving virtual assets.

Lv Zhihong, the head of Deloitte China's digital asset division in Hong Kong, said that last year's FinTech Week added exciting new elements, showcasing emerging technologies such as Web 3.0 and the metaverse. Different companies used FinTech Week to demonstrate new technologies and application scenarios to the industry, which has a positive impact on the future development of the industry. International financial institutions are actively expanding Web 3.0 applications to capture new opportunities for financial development. If Hong Kong gradually establishes a Web 3.0 ecosystem, it can create new opportunities for the economy. However, to promote the development of Web 3.0, it is necessary for the Special Administrative Region government to establish a cooperative relationship with international institutions and companies, attract more investment and technology cooperation, and encourage local and international companies to strengthen technology exchange and experience sharing. FinTech Week can play a role in this regard.