Disruption

A licensing scheme for stablecoin issuers in Hong Kong is expected to be introduced later this year.

The fund will also be the first retail tokenised fund across Asia Pacific.

SoftBank has said it will spend $3bn annually to deploy customised AI across its group of companies; the JV, known as SB OpenAI Japan, will sell to Japanese firms.

The release of a competitive low cost large language models not only shifts the AI narrative away from expensive hardware, but also prompts debate about a potential inflection point for fund managers, with some models potentially not surviving.

BoCom becomes the first Chinese financial institution to issue a digitally native bond in Hong Kong with a $300m floating rate offering.

Even as the market cap for digital currencies rises, experts say regulators in Asia will prioritise a prudent oversight path rather than follow Washington in lockstep; HK and Singapore's rivalry is set to continue.

DLT’s potential to drive transaction efficiency is more widely acknowledged, while some crypto native players are looking to tap into traditional financial products; however, Apac’s regulatory framework is fragmented.

The state-backed conglomerate's move should pave the way for future corporate issuances in 2025, which could make use of the HKMA’s grant scheme.

The investment in the surgical robotics firm was led by EQT and included Hong Kong's Innovation and Technology Venture Fund.