A subsidiary of Greenland Holdings is applying for a license to trade virtual assets in Hong Kong, the South China Morning Post reports. It is the first Chinese state-owned company to do so.
Greenland Financial Technology Group CEO James Geng Jing told the Hong Kong newspaper that a new virtual asset trading company would be created and would apply for a license in Hong Kong. Virtual asset trading platforms will need a license to operate or promote themselves in that region, according to Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) rules that take effect June 1.
Greenland already has two licenses from the SFC: for securities advice and asset management. It applied for a virtual bank license in 2018, but was not selected. Geng said that the new Greenland unit would trade cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and products related to carbon emissions.
Greenland Financial Technology Group received a digital banking license in Singapore in 2020. Geng told the newspaper:
“After gaining experience offering digital banking in Singapore, along with our expansion into digital business on the mainland over the past five years, we are confident that we are now ready to enter Hong Kong.”
“Strong regulation and investor protection are the key for Hong Kong to develop as a virtual asset trading hub,” Geng added.
Greenland Financial Technology Group is a wholly owned subsidiary of Greenland Holdings, a Shanghai-based real estate developer that is 46.4% owned by the Shanghai Municipal Government. In recent years it has branched out into other sectors, including financial technology.
#BlocklikeNews A unit of Greenland Holdings, Greenland Financial Technology Group, is planning to apply for a license to trade virtual assets in Hong Kong, according to a senior executive, according to South China Morning Post. pic.twitter.com/y01YjSeBkb
— Blocklike (@blocklikecom) May 17, 2023
Cryptocurrency exchange Huobi Global and OKX, both from mainland China, applied for licenses to operate virtual assets in Hong Kong in February, according to the newspaper.
Hong Kong is bucking global trends by advancing the development of its digital asset market. Some experts say that it has the potential to displace the United States as the center of the global crypto industry.
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