HONG KONG SAR, CHINA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Angus Forsyth, Angus Forsyth & Co
on the platform operator’s website and include the following: • last 24 hours’ price and trading volume; • management or development team information; • issuance date; • material terms and features of the virtual assets; • affiliation of the platform operator with the issuer, management or development team of any virtual asset; • links to the official websites of the virtual assets and to the smart contract audit reports and other bug reports of the virtual assets; and • where the virtual assets have voting rights, how these voting rights will be handled by the platform operator. In handling client virtual assets, a licensed virtual asset trading platform operator can only hold client assets (ie, client virtual assets and client money) through an associated entity. This can be a Hong Kong incorpo - rated subsidiary of the virtual asset trading platform operator which is a licensed trust or service company provider under the Anti-Money Laundering Ordinance (AMLO) and has notified the Securities and Futures Commission that it is an associated entity of the licensed virtual asset trading platform operator under the AMLO and under the Securities and Futures Ordi - nance. Client virtual assets must be held in wallet addresses established by the platform operator’s associated entity and must be segregated from the assets of the platform operator and the associated entity. Licensed trading platform operators must have robust internal controls and governance procedures to ensure that cryptographic seeds and private keys are securely generated, stored and backed up. The operators must also ensure that their associated enti - ties implement the same controls and procedures, which must (among others): restrict access to seeds and private keys for client virtual assets to authorised personnel who have been appropriately screened and trained; and provide for seeds and private keys to be securely stored in Hong Kong. The SFC will publish lists on its website:
• to inform the public of the regulatory status of Hong Kong virtual asset trading platforms; and • of Hong Kong licensed virtual asset trading plat - forms, deemed Hong Kong licensed virtual asset trading platforms, closing-down virtual asset trad - ing platforms and unlicensed “illegal” virtual asset trading platforms. Blueprint for Arts and Culture and Creative Industries Development The November 2024 Blueprint promulgated by the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism in Hong Kong set out a clear vision with supporting principles and strategic directions to foster the future develop - ment of culture in Hong Kong. It promoted traditional Chinese culture with Hong Kong character, including diverse arts and culture industries in Hong Kong with an international perspective, in the establishment of international platforms to foster “East Meets West” arts and culture exchanges and the enhancement of the ecosystem for the arts, culture and creative indus - tries. In his policy address on 17 September 2025, the Chief Executive indicated – as one element of many initiatives to capture and maintain the preservation of a full spectrum economy – that the government real - ises and acknowledges that Hong Kong is among the world’s top three arts trading centres. The government will step up efforts to drive the building of Hong Kong into a global premium arts trading hub. Motivated to attract more international auction houses, galleries and professionals to establish a presence in Hong Kong, the government will relax standards for admis - sion into Hong Kong of students and outstanding edu - cational talent in both applied and performing arts. West Kowloon Cultural District A substantial development in this drive is in pro - gress at Airport City, an adjunct to the huge piece of reclaimed land now constituting the Hong Kong International Airport. Coming on stream later in 2025, an art hub facility will host arts studios, galleries and dealers under one roof. In support of this purpose, specific community large-scale arts storage and relat - ed facilities are also coming on line. Hong Kong has a deepening collaboration with Art Basel and is actively engaging the art industry both in Hong Kong and over - seas to carry out studies on taxation, financing, talent and related areas of arts trading in order to explore
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