ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is looking to Hong Kong’s experience with tokenized bonds as it explores putting government securities, sukuk and other financial assets on digital infrastructure, its virtual assets regulator said on Thursday following high-level meetings in the Asian financial hub.
Bilal Bin Saqib, chairman of the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA), discussed tokenized capital markets, digital bonds and settlement infrastructure with Hong Kong Monetary Authority Deputy Chief Executive Arthur Yuen, as Islamabad seeks to draw investment into its newly regulated digital-asset sector.
“Pakistan has established the regulatory foundations for the virtual assets sector,” Saqib was quoted as saying by PVARA. “The next objective is to translate the regulatory framework into economic outcomes.”
Hong Kong has emerged as one of Asia’s leading regulated digital-asset markets and has experimented with tokenized government bonds as part of efforts to integrate blockchain technology into mainstream financial markets.
Tokenization involves creating digital representations of conventional assets on blockchain or similar distributed-ledger infrastructure, potentially allowing financial instruments to be issued, traded and settled digitally.
Saqib said Pakistan wanted to attract credible companies and develop practical financial applications, with a focus on tokenized capital markets and regulatory technology. He described Hong Kong as a potential bridge between Pakistani technology companies and global investors.
During the visit, Saqib also met Hong Kong Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui to discuss institutional cooperation and technical exchanges in the financial sector, PVARA said.
He separately met Hong Kong Legislative Council member Duncan Chiu for talks on potential cooperation in fintech, Web3, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity.
Pakistan has moved rapidly to establish a regulatory regime for digital assets, setting up PVARA to license and oversee virtual-asset service providers as the government seeks to bring a large, previously loosely regulated crypto market into a formal framework.
Saqib said Pakistan aimed to develop a secure, transparent and internationally connected virtual-asset ecosystem.
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