Hong Kong’s financial services will be able to play a more important and diverse role as Asia’s economy continues to grow rapidly, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said in his Sunday blog.

He said the economy of the entire Asian region has shown strong resilience despite the impact of geopolitics.

Asia contributes about 60 percent to the world’s economic growth, with the International Monetary Fund predicting that that the economic growth rate of developing Asia will be between 4.5 percent and 4.6 percent this year and next year, respectively -- much higher than the average of 1.4 percent to 1.5 percent of developed economies.

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In the rising region, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region serves as a significant link between the Chinese mainland and the world. The city’s recent foreign trade performance also reflects the above trend. The largest cumulative increase in exports in the first five months of this year was to Vietnam -- about 59 percent -- while exports to Japan and the mainland went up by 20 percent and 18 percent, respectively.

However, Chan said the global political and economic landscape is being reshaped, and emerging economies still face many challenges.

Leveraging its status as a free port, a “super connector” and advantages in investment, innovation, and technology, he said the SAR is able to facilitate emerging Asian economies to pursue more promising development through technology and innovation.

Financial technology, in particular, has great potential for application in cross-border trade. The goal is to solve long-standing problems, such as slow speed and the high cost of cross-border payments, serving the real economy, the finance chief said.

The Policy Statement 2.0 on the Development of Digital Assets in Hong Kong issued by the HKSAR government last week said one of the aims of the four-pillar framework is to promote application scenarios and cross-sectoral cooperation.

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To solve the problems in payment and capital market activities, including cross-border payments, it said stablecoins provide a cost-effective alternative to the traditional financial system.

The Stablecoins Ordinance will take effect on Aug 1, requiring any individual or entity issuing fiat-backed stablecoins in Hong Kong, or those claiming to be pegged to the Hong Kong dollar regardless of where they are issued,  must secure a license from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.

Chan said the SAR government and  financial regulators are committed to creating a favorable market environment, coupled with necessary regulatory measures, to encourage stablecoin issuers to expand their applications to different scenarios.