The New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme has been accepting applications since March 1st of this year. The Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau announced yesterday that the scheme has received over 700 applications and is expected to bring investment of over 21 billion yuan to Hong Kong. Deputy Director Chen Haolian attended the Legislative Council meeting and stated that he is continuously strengthening ties with the "Belt and Road" economies, actively seeking new investment and funding sources, including promoting the listing of exchange traded funds in the Hong Kong and Saudi Arabian markets, and promoting two-way capital and financial connectivity between the two places.

He continued by saying that a working group will be established within this month to promote the establishment of an international gold trading center, including strengthening trading mechani**s and related regulatory frameworks, promoting cutting-edge financial technology applications, and exploring with the mainland to include gold products in interconnectivity. At the same time, we will continue to actively research and promote the expansion of interconnectivity with mainland regulatory agencies, enhance the investment function of offshore RMB, including including incorporating RMB stock trading counters into the Hong Kong Stock Connect and promoting bulk trading into the interconnectivity mechani**, to promote the internationalization of RMB.

In terms of financial technology, as of October, there are over 1100 financial technology companies in Hong Kong, with an annual growth rate of about 15%. The government will continue to promote the application of central bank digital currency, mobile payments, digital banking, virtual asset trading and other technologies in the future, and promote the healthy and sustainable development of Hong Kong's stablecoin and web3 ecosystem.