In a collaborative effort to explore the potential of the Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), the School of Business and Management of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST Business School), in partnership with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the Hong Kong Institute for Monetary and Financial Research (HKIMR) under the Hong Kong Academy of Finance hosted today the International Conference on Central Bank Digital Currencies and Payment Systems.
Attended by participants from academia, central banks, financial institutions and fintech firms, this event brought together experts from international financial institutions, central banks, and universities across Asia, Europe, and North America to shed light on a wide range of critical CBDC-related topics, including policy implications, technological innovations, operational challenges and industry dynamics.
The conference commenced with a keynote speech by Mr. Eddie YUE, Chief Executive of the HKMA and a keynote presentation on CBDC and monetary policy by Dr. HE Dong, the Deputy Director of the Monetary and Capital Markets Department of the International Monetary Fund. This set the stage for panel discussions and presentations that delved into key themes surrounding CBDC development.
Prof. TAM Kar-Yan, Dean of HKUST Business School, said, “As a groundbreaking digital form of money, CBDC has the potential to transform global finance by streamlining transactions across financial ecosystems and the broader economy. Central banks worldwide are exploring ways to unlock its capabilities. The multifaceted development of CBDCs at both wholesale and retail levels demands a holistic approach to tackle related technical, macroeconomic, and financial challenges. Universities can play a crucial role in this endeavor by fostering multi-disciplinary discussions, conducting research, and facilitating cross-sectoral knowledge exchange. We are very thankful to HKMA and HKIMR for their collaboration on this international conference.”
With its multi-disciplinary expertise in fintech, the HKUST Business School has been actively exploring the potential of CBDC through various research and stakeholder engagement initiatives. These include industry research projects, public opinion surveys, seminars, and use cases for an e-HKD. Two faculty members are also serving on HKMA’s CBDC Expert Group to help illuminate on the new form of central bank money, and advance Hong Kong’s development into a major global fintech hub.
Among the conference sessions, one panel discussion looked into the precious lessons yielded from the ongoing exploration and implementation of CBDCs across various jurisdictions, featuring insights from Mr. LI Shu-Pui, Advisor to the Governor’s Office at the Central Bank of The U.A.E.; Mr. Colin POU, Executive Director (Financial Infrastructure) of the HKMA; and Mr. Mamerto E. TANGONAN, Deputy Governor of the Payments and Currency Management Sector at Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. The panel was moderated by Ms. Bénédicte NOLENS, Head of the BIS Innovation Hub Hong Kong.
Another panel, moderated by Mr. George CHOU, Chief Fintech Officer at HKMA, delved into whether CBDCs, stablecoins, and tokenized deposits are complements or substitutes. It brought together Dr. Jonathan CHIU, Senior Research Advisor at the Banking and Payments Department of the Bank of Canada; Prof. Tam Kar-Yan, Dean of HKUST Business School; and Prof. Beatrice WEDER DI MAURO, President of the Center for Economic Policy Research and the Department of International Economics at the Geneva Graduate Institute, for a thought-provoking discussion.
The conference was also highlighted by presentations from experts representing both international financial institutions and academic institutions, including Bank for International Settlements, Geneva Graduate Institute, HKUST, Renmin University, Princeton University, and the University of California, Santa Barbara.
CBDCs are gaining global momentum, with nine out of ten central banks exploring them, and more than half are now developing them or running concrete experiments, according to a survey by the Bank for International Settlements.