The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) will conduct tests on the operation of tokenised Exchange Fund Bills by the end of this year, according to the Chief Executive’s 2026 Policy Address, delivered on September 16. The Policy Address says the tests are meant to help banks make efficient, round-the-clock use of more than HK$1.3 trillion worth of Exchange Fund Bills and improve the efficiency of asset and liability management. It also says the Government will promote the trading of regulated stablecoins on licensed virtual-asset trading platforms and their use in settling tokenised money market funds.
The stablecoin measure is listed among the fintech commitments the Policy Address assigns to the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), alongside plans to enhance virtual-asset licensing regimes with specific regulatory guidelines, and to improve the regulatory framework for tokenised investment products so that tokenised gold and other suitable real-world assets can be issued and traded on licensed platforms. The stated aim is to raise Hong Kong’s competitiveness as an international digital asset hub. The Policy Address text gives no start date or detailed trading arrangements for the stablecoin measure.
The tests sit within a wider push on digital bonds. The Policy Address says digital bonds issued in Hong Kong captured nearly 50% of the global market between 2025 and the first half of 2026, and that issuance of digital bonds will be regularised, including using digital currencies for settlement and exploring their use across a bond’s full life cycle, such as dividend payment and redemption. The HKMA’s Tokenised Bond Expert Group is to explore innovative solutions and launch a second-phase legal review with the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau to facilitate the application of distributed ledger technology in the capital market. CMU OmniClear Limited is to establish a digital asset platform this year, offering one-stop services such as digital bond issuance and settlement.
On the stablecoin side, the HKMA granted stablecoin issuer licences under the Stablecoins Ordinance on April 10 to Anchorpoint Financial Limited and The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited. The HKMA said at the time that, according to the licensees’ business plans, they intended to complete preparations and launch business in the coming few months. Separately, the Policy Address says the HKMA is planning to implement central bank digital currency settlement and 24/7 operations under EnsembleTX by around the end of this year, and will keep exploring more use cases for tokenised deposits.
References
Hong Kong SAR Government – The Chief Executive’s 2026 Policy Address, Chapter III / Hong Kong Monetary Authority – Granting of stablecoin issuer licences
