HONG KONG – Minister of State and Chairman of the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA), Bilal Bin Saqib held a series of high-level meetings in Hong Kong aimed at strengthening cooperation in digital finance, tokenised capital markets, regulatory innovation and frontier technologies.
During the visit, Saqib met Arthur Yuen, Deputy Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority; Christopher Hui, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury of the Hong Kong SAR Government; and Duncan Chiu, Member of the Legislative Council representing the Technology and Innovation functional constituency. The meetings focused on Hong Kong’s experience in developing modern financial-market infrastructure and creating a regulated environment for digital assets and tokenised financial products. Discussions with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority included developments in financial regulation, tokenised capital markets, digital bonds, settlement infrastructure and technology-enabled supervision.
Pakistan is particularly interested in learning from Hong Kong’s experience as it explores how tokenisation could support the future development of government securities, sukuk and other real-world financial assets. The meeting with the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau explored opportunities for closer institutional cooperation, knowledge exchange and engagement between Hong Kong financial institutions and emerging opportunities in Pakistan.
Both sides discussed the importance of moving beyond broad policy dialogue towards practical areas of cooperation, including technical exchanges, institutional roundtables and the identification of specific tokenisation use cases for further study. Saqib also met Duncan Chiu to discuss the role of legislation in supporting innovation, the development of competitive fintech and Web3 ecosystems, and opportunities for collaboration in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and other frontier technologies. The discussion examined how Hong Kong could serve as a bridge connecting Pakistani technology companies and investment opportunities with investors, technology firms and industrial partners across Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area. “Hong Kong has demonstrated how regulation, financial infrastructure and government leadership can work together to bring emerging technologies into mainstream finance,” Saqib said.
“Pakistan has established the regulatory foundations for its virtual-asset sector. Our next objective is to translate that framework into economic outcomes by attracting credible companies, mobilising capital, developing real-world use cases and connecting Pakistan with leading international financial centres.” He added that Pakistan’s engagement with Hong Kong would focus on institutional learning and practical cooperation rather than ceremonial agreements.
“We want to identify specific initiatives that our institutions can take forward together. Tokenised capital markets, regulatory technology and stronger connections between Pakistani companies and Hong Kong investors are areas where meaningful progress can be made.” The Hong Kong engagements form part of PVARA’s broader effort to build relationships with leading regulators, policymakers and financial institutions as Pakistan develops a secure, transparent and internationally connected virtual-asset ecosystem.
Leave a comment