Hong Kong Treasury Bureau to table four virtual asset service provider bills this year

Hong Kong's Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau is working with the Securities and Futures Commission on detailed rules for regulating virtual asset trading and custody services, with a target to submit four bills on virtual asset service provider regimes to the Legislative Council within this year, according to a government press release on January 30. The statement also noted that Hong Kong's "stablecoin ordinance" officially took effect in August 2025 and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority is currently processing related licence applications. In building an international gold trading market, Hong Kong has set a goal to expand gold storage by more than 2,000 tonnes within three years and has established a fully government-owned governing body for the Hong Kong central gold clearing system, which aims to start trial operations this year. The Bureau is also studying enhancements to tax concessions for corporate treasury centres and exploring shortening the stock settlement cycle from the current T+2 to T+1.