Xu Zhengyu: The Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the People's Bank of China are currently promoting the interconnection of the two regions' fast payment systems.

On November 7, Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan participated in the SHENZHEN INT'L Financial Expo International Fintech Festival via video and stated that in May of this year, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the People's Bank of China made further progress in their cooperation on the pilot of cross-border payment using DIGIHUMAN digital currency. They expanded the pilot of DIGIHUMAN digital currency in Hong Kong to facilitate cross-border retail payments for residents of both places. Looking ahead, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the People's Bank of China are promoting the interconnection of the fast payment systems of the two places, namely Hong Kong's Faster Payment System and Mainland China's online payment cross-bank clearing system, to facilitate real-time small cross-border payments for residents of both places. He emphasized that the Hong Kong government values the development of financial technology. In the Global Financial Center Index report, Hong Kong has for the first time risen to the top ten global fintech centers, with the latest statistics indicating that there are more than 1,100 fintech companies in Hong Kong covering various fields. In the future, the government will continue to encourage the financial industry to seize opportunities brought by high technology while maintaining overall financial security, responsibly using technologies such as artificial intelligence to enhance the high-quality productivity that technology provides us. He mentioned that the Hong Kong government is actively promoting the connection and cooperation with the Greater Bay Area and Mainland China in fintech. In November last year, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the People's Bank of China, and the Monetary Authority of Macao signed a memorandum of cooperation to deepen the exchange and cooperation in fintech innovation in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, providing a one-stop platform to drive cross-border fintech project testing for the three regions.