​The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, continued his programme at the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, yesterday (January 20, Davos time).
      
     In the morning, Mr Chan attended the Special Address delivered by Vice Premier of the State Council Mr He Lifeng at the WEF Annual Meeting. Yesterday, he also held meetings with senior officials from various economies, representatives of international organisations and business leaders to brief them on Hong Kong's latest developments and unique advantages.
      
     Mr Chan attended a breakfast meeting hosted by a digital asset company, Animoca Brands, where he engaged in discussions with leaders from the financial and innovation sectors on how blockchain applications — including tokenised assets and genomic data analytics — are driving transformation and development in capital markets.
      
     Speaking at the meeting, Mr Chan said that finance and technology are mutually reinforcing. Financial innovations, such as digital assets, not only enhance transparency, efficiency, inclusiveness and risk management in financial services, but also facilitate more effective capital allocation to the real economy. He added that finance also plays a vital role in supporting and enabling technological development.
      
     Mr Chan pointed out that, as an international financial centre, Hong Kong adopts a proactive yet prudent approach to the development of digital assets. The city follows the principle of "same activity, same risk, same regulation" to promote responsible and sustainable market development. Since 2023, Hong Kong has issued licences to 11 virtual asset trading platforms, and a licensing regime for stablecoins is expected to be launched later this year. He also highlighted the Government's leadership role in promoting tokenisation, including the issuance of three batches of tokenised green bonds amounting to around US$2.1 billion. In addition, regulatory sandboxes have been introduced to encourage innovative applications in the market.
      
     Later in the day, Mr Chan met with a number of officials from different economies and regional organisations attending the WEF Annual Meeting, including Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance of Thailand, Mr Ekniti Nitithanprapas; the Secretary-General of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, Mr Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi; the Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade of Egypt, Mr Hassan El Khatib; and the State Secretary for International Finance at the Federal Department of Finance of Switzerland, Ms Daniela Stoffel. They exchanged views on the global political and economic landscape and issues of mutual concern, and explored opportunities to strengthen collaboration in areas such as trade, finance, industry development and digital transformation.
      
     In addition, Mr Chan met with the Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, to exchange views on the current landscape and future of international trade. Mr Chan reiterated that Hong Kong, China firmly supports free trade and multilateralism, and expressed support for the WTO's efforts to pursue reforms in response to current global challenges, with a view to enhancing its agility in addressing emerging issues in international trade.
      
     Mr Chan also met with the Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of technology investment firm Vista Equity Partners, Mr Robert Smith, to learn about the firm's latest developments in software and data businesses, and encouraged Mr Smith to consider expanding the company's presence in Hong Kong.
      
     Mr Chan will continue his visit to Davos today (January 21, Davos time).

Ends/Wednesday, January 21, 2026
Issued at HKT 9:00

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