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.