‘Breakthrough growth’ will be driven by Web3: HK financial secretary

Paul Chan says that blockchain and Web3 tech will be responsible for the next big wave of growth in Hong Kong’s digital tech sector.

Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary, Paul Chan Mo-po has reiterated his support for blockchain technology, calling it the next wave of “breakthrough growth” in the digital technology industry in a recent blog post.

In an Aug. 27 statement, Chan wrote that emerging sectors within Web3 such as NFTs, GameFi, Play-to-Earn gaming, and immersive entertainment are set to lead the next generation of digital entertainment.

“The core blockchain technology of Web3, with its characteristics of disintermediation, security, transparency, immutability and low cost, can be applied in many fields such as finance, commerce, trade, supply chain management, and even daily life.”

Chan’s statements came in the wake of his visit to a three-day blockchain-focused event called the Digital Entertainment Leaders Forum, hosted in Cyberport in Hong Kong.

Cyberport is a 25 hectare, mixed-use tech and multimedia hub which provides grants, funding and office space to a wide range of companies across the tech, digital entertainment and finance sectors.

Notably, Chan mentioned he had allocated an additional $50 million from this year’s budget to Cyberport earlier this year— to help it accelerate the development of a “vigorous” Web3 ecosystem.

Chan noted that Cyberport had already gathered over 180 Web3-related tech companies including startups and fully-fledged exchanges under its roof, highlighting that 20% of the companies have come from overseas.

Related: Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia collaborate on tokens and payments

While China has maintained a hardline anti-crypto stance for nearly half a decade — Hong Kong has released new crypto-friendly legislation to position itself as a global hub for digital assets.

The government of Hong Kong has unveiled a task force dedicated to driving the advancement of Web3. According to a June 30 statement, the group comprises a mix of key government officials and industry participants. https://t.co/Yo9gnUquvI

— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) July 2, 2023

Part of Hong Kong’s ongoing commitment to invest in the megatrend of Web3 development saw the special administrative region create a Web3 task force — to provide recommendations on the sustainable and responsible development of the industry.

On Aug. 3, local crypto exchange HashKey announced that it successfully obtained all of the necessary licenses to begin offering crypto assets to retail investors — becoming the first exchange in Hong Kong soil to expand its business from solely serving institutional investors.

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