The Financial Secretary of Hong Kong, Paul Chan, announces the city’s annual budget plan for 2023, dispensing US$6.37 million into the Web3 sector to spur innovation and growth.

Hong Kong’s emerging Web3 industry has showcased enormous growth potential over the past years. The city’s Financial Secretary Paul Chan, has officially recognised the sector’s future prospects, labelling the third-generation internet’s “start-up period” as a “golden opportunity” for the city to frontier new innovation. During his recent annual budget speech, Chan announced that the city will dispense HK$50 million (US$6.37 million), to boost the development and expansion of the Web3 ecosystem.

The financial chief acknowledged the diverse opportunities presented within the Web3 sector and hence will allocate the reserve to organise major international seminars to facilitate cross-sectoral business prospects, along with designating relevant educational workshops for the youth, driving innovation and adoption.

Additionally, Chan emphasised the integral role of virtual assets (VAs) in aiding the development of the Web3 ecosystem, and will establish and lead a dedicated task force to promote the technological advancement of the sector. The appointed team will include members from the appropriate policy divisions, financial regulators, as well as other relevant market players that are well-equipped to provide guidance on facilitating sustainable and responsible manoeuvres to bolster growth.

Furthermore, the regulatory framework will help streamline the VA ecosystem, while mitigating the potential risks associated with virtual transfers, including money laundering and terrorist financing.

To further strengthen the city’s digital infrastructure, financial authorities will also conduct feasibility research on the expansion of Hong Kong’s AI Supercomputing Centre, which is set to be completed by 2024.

Hong Kong aims to present a viable market, appealing to Web3 companies to set up their businesses and drive innovation, while helping create more job opportunities. This will further open up new growth prospects for the city and strengthen its position as a digital innovation hub in the region.

 

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