According to the South China Morning Post, a subsidiary of Greenland Holdings is applying for a virtual asset trading license in Hong Kong. It is the first Chinese state-owned company to do so.
Geng Jing, CEO of Greenland Financial Technology Group, told the Hong Kong newspaper that a new company specializing in virtual asset transactions will be established in Hong Kong and apply for a license. Virtual asset trading platforms will need a license to operate or market themselves in the region under Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) rules that came into effect on June 1. Greenland already holds two licenses issued by the China Securities Regulatory Commission - securities consulting and asset management. It applied for a virtual banking license in 20 18 but was not selected. The new Greenland sector will trade cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens and products related to carbon emissions, Geng said.
Greenland Fintech Group obtained a digital banking license in Singapore in 2020. Geng told this newspaper: "After gaining experience in providing digital banking in Singapore, and after our digital expansion in the Mainland over the past five years, we are confident that we are now ready to enter Hong Kong." "Sound regulation and investor protection are key to Hong Kong's development as a virtual asset trading hub," Geng added.
Greenland Fintech Group is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Shanghai real estate developer Greenland Holdings, with the Shanghai government holding a 46.4 percent stake. In recent years, it has expanded into several other areas, including fintech. Cryptocurrency exchanges Huobi G lobal and OKX, which Originated in mainland China, applied for a virtual asset trading license in Hong Kong in February, the newspaper reported.
Hong Kong is bucking the trend by developing its digital asset market. Some experts say it has the potential to replace the US as the center of the world's cryptocurrency industry.
