Hong Kong Monetary Authority tests blockchain

Rage Review : The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has begun to work with the Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI) to launch an innovation center to test blockchain and distributed ledger solutions. It is generally believed that the development of financial technology in Hong Kong's financial services industry is slow, but at least this is not the case in the banking sector. Earlier, AIA Hong Kong joined the R3 blockchain alliance, and the development of blockchain in Hong Kong is relatively fast.

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The Hong Kong Monetary Authority plans to launch an innovation center to test blockchain and distributed ledger solutions.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) revealed yesterday that it has begun working with the Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI) on the government-sponsored initiative to strengthen the competitiveness of blockchain technology.

In a statement, the HKMA said the innovative new institution would maintain a "neutral attitude" and test financial technology before officially launching the final version.

The announcement is consistent with previous comments by HKMA CEO Norman Chan, who in a speech at the 2016 Treasury Market Summit sought to dispel the idea that the autonomous region would not quickly embrace fintech innovation.

Norman Chan

Chan said:

“There is a common perception that the development of fintech has been slow in Hong Kong’s financial services industry. I don’t quite agree with that view, at least not in the banking sector.”

Other activities that may take place at the Innovation Hub include testing solutions that require significant computer resources; enabling discussions between regulators, incumbents and startups; and testing solutions applicable to the HKMA.

The specific allocation of resources for this initiative is still being "optimized" and more project details are expected to be updated in the coming weeks.