Hong Kong firmly supports free trade and multilateralism amid current global challenges, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said on Tuesday.

Chan made the statement when he met with Director-General of the World Trade Organization Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in Davos, Switzerland, where he is attending the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting.  

Chan also expressed support for the WTO's efforts to pursue reforms to enhance its agility in addressing emerging issues in international trade.

Chan also held meetings with senior officials from various economies, representatives of international organizations and business leaders to brief them on Hong Kong's latest developments and unique advantages.

He attended a breakfast meeting hosted by Animoca Brands, a digital asset company, and discussed with leaders from the financial and innovation sectors how blockchain applications — including tokenized assets and genomic data analytics — are driving transformation and development in capital markets.

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.

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As an international financial center, Hong Kong adopts a proactive yet prudent approach to the development of digital assets, Chan said.  

He said 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 licenses to 11 virtual asset trading platforms, and a licensing regime for stablecoins is expected to be launched later this year, Chan said.

He also highlighted the SAR government's leadership role in promoting tokenization, including the issuance of three batches of tokenized green bonds amounting to around $2.1 billion. Regulatory sandboxes have also been introduced to encourage innovative applications in the market.

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 Ekniti Nitithanprapas, Secretary-General of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade of Egypt Hassan El Khatib, and State Secretary for International Finance at the Federal Department of Finance of Switzerland Daniela Stoffel.

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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.

Chan also met with Robert Smith, chairman and chief executive officer of technology investment firm Vista Equity Partners, and encouraged the company to consider expanding its presence in Hong Kong.