Cheng Maobo: Hong Kong will strive to become a key hub for the application and large-scale development of AI and Web3 technologies

Mars Finance News: Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po delivered the opening address at the 2026 Hong Kong Web3 Carnival, saying, “This year’s rise of AI agents is another noteworthy milestone. The intersection of AI and technologies such as Web3 is changing the game. Combining the two will bring transaction efficiency to an entirely new level and extend coverage to a wider range of business areas—from finance and trade to wealth management, supply chain operations, and logistics. This combination will create a great many new opportunities, but it will also bring about a series of issues, such as problems with infrastructure payment and settlement systems and regulatory rules. Hong Kong’s policy on Web3 and AI has always been clear: it remains consistent with the ‘one country, two systems’ principle. As an international financial hub, Hong Kong embraces innovation; stablecoins, tokenization, and AI are becoming important components of the future mainstream. Hong Kong’s regulatory authorities shoulder a dual mission: prudent regulation and promoting market development. This requires us to encourage and support more innovative applications, continuously draw on experience to improve our institutional framework, and keep pace with changing times with an open and balanced approach. I firmly believe that Hong Kong will certainly become a key hub where new-generation technologies thrive, are widely applied, and achieve responsible and scaled growth.”