Hong Kong 'Exploring' Collaboration With China on Digital Yuan: Finance Chief

Hong Kong Treasury Secretary Christopher Hui said Wednesday the region's government is considering collaborating with mainland authorities on China's digital currency project, the digital yuan.

Hui said during a Legislative Council Q&A Hong Kong is most interested in wholesale and cross-border digital currency use cases, a contrast to China's primarily retail-facing digital yuan, also known as DC/EP.
"If the [digital yuan] can be applied to cross-boundary payments, it would further promote the mutual connectivity" between China and Hong Kong, he said.
Officials at the Hong Kong Monetary Authority plan to continue discussing the digital yuan with their counterparts at the People's Bank of China (PBoC), he said.
"In addition, the Financial Services Development Council has formed a working group to study how Hong Kong can seize the opportunities from DC/EP's development," Hui said.
Hui appeared to throw cold water on reports Wednesday that PBoC is already planning to trial-run the digital yuan in Hong Kong. But HKMA "will actively respond and collaborate" with PBoC if the interest is there, he added.

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