(中文) 2022年11月21日，由上海市司法局、上海市国际贸易促进委员会、上海仲裁协会主办，上海市锦天城律师事务所承办的「2022上海仲裁周-国际仲裁中的交叉盘问—律师、专家与机构视角」圆满举办。本所合伙人﹑诉讼及争议解决部主管徐凯怡律师受邀为本届上海仲裁周担任演讲嘉宾。

本次论坛由锦天城律师事务所主任顾功耘教授致辞揭开序幕，并邀请了来自上海仲裁委员会、上海国际仲裁中心、香港国际仲裁中心、新加坡国际仲裁中心和ICC国际商会等机构的仲裁界专家从不同的角度分享其交叉盘问的经验。本所徐律师以「国际仲裁交叉盘问之Dos 与 Don’ts」，分享了盘问证人的常用技巧以及律师盘问的基本技巧和要点，并通过案例演练加深与会者对交叉盘问技巧的认识。

锦天城律师事务所主任顾功耘教授致开幕辞 (图一)，锦天城合伙人、诉仲委召集人兼秘书长蔡城律师作为本场活动的主持人 (图二)，锦天城合伙人汤旻利博士分享《交叉盘问初探》演讲 (图三)。

上海国际仲裁中心秘书长及上海仲裁协会秘书长王唯骏女士 (图一) 和香港国际仲裁中心副秘书长、上海代表处首席代表杨玲博士 (图二) 为论坛上半场的分享进行了精彩点评。

国际商会仲裁与ADR北亚区主任黄志瑾博士 (图一)、新加坡国际仲裁中心国际仲裁院理事Chan Leng Sun先生 (图二)、亚洲国际仲裁中心董事Tan Sri Datuk Suriyadi bin Halim Omar先生向此次活动致祝贺词 (图三)。

论坛下半场探讨了《如何撰写一份“不怕问”的专家报告》(图一)和《围炉谈话——跨法域下交叉盘问的实践》 (图二)，并由锦天城高级合伙人、诉仲委总召集人岳巍律师发表感谢致辞圆满结束本次论坛 (图三)

徐律师透过线上的形式参与了本次论坛。徐律师表示很高兴获邀以演讲嘉宾的身份参与本次论坛，并期待能在不久的将来与大家会面。

若阁下想了解更多详情，请联络本所合伙人徐凯怡律师。

(中文) 2022年11月30日，本所合伙人，诉讼及争议解决部主管徐凯怡律师参与了新加坡仲裁协会（SIArb）于新加坡富丽敦酒店举行的40周年晚宴。

本次晚宴邀请了新加坡文化、社区及青年部长兼律政部第二部长唐振辉资深大律师（Edwin Tong SC）担任嘉宾。另外，唐律师亦是华社联络组主席和人民协会副主席。

新加坡文化、社区及青年部长兼律政部第二部长唐振辉资深大律师为晚宴致辞

左起: 香港仲裁师协会会长邝志强律师太平绅士，新加坡文化、社区及青年部长兼律政部第二部长唐振辉资深大律师和本所合伙人徐凯怡律师

国际商会 (ICC) 国际仲裁院顾问Ms. Hazel Tang (左) 和本所合伙人徐凯怡律师 (右)

新加坡仲裁协会主席郑裕能律师 (左三) 和本所合伙人徐凯怡律师(左一)

若阁下想了解更多详情，请联络本所合伙人徐凯怡律师。

This entry is only available in 中文.

Introduction

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (“HKMA”) released a position paper titled “e-HKD: Charting the Next Steps” on 20 September 2022 (the “Position Paper”) to set out its policy stance on retail Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), i.e. e-HKD, and outline its next steps. Based on the findings and comments received from the technical whitepaper titled “e-HKD: A technical perspective” published in October 2021 and the policy discussion whitepaper titled “e-HKD: A policy and design perspective” published in April 2022, the HKMA considers it necessary to start paving the way for possible future implementation of e-HKD. In this news update, we will focus primarily on the development of e-HKD, its legal status, and relevant features contemplated under the Position Paper.

Charting the Next Steps of e-HKD

Set out below is the approach and model envisaged by the HKMA to implement e-HKD as discussed in the Position Paper:-

Features of e-HKD

As explained in the Position Paper and the whitepapers, e-HKD should have the following various features:-

Analysis and Takeaway

The regulators have been relatively proactive in the Fintech scene, rolling out various new regimes and guidance. With the rapid development in Fintech and VAs, the Hong Kong Government, the Securities and Futures Commission (“SFC”) and the HKMA have consistently strived to set up an effective regulatory framework for the Fintech industry in Hong Kong to prosper. The Position Paper on e-HKD is one of the many examples in this aspect.

Indeed, the Hong Kong Government has been active in establishing the regulatory framework for the Virtual Assets (“VA”) market, including the gazettal of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing (Amendment) Bill 2022 to introduce a new licensing regime for VA service providers (“VASPs”) which will take effect on 1 March 2023. In addition to the initial step to allow VA access under the new licensing regime. On the same day as the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau announced its Policy Statement on Development of Virtual Assets in Hong Kong, the SFC also published a circular on the VA futures exchange traded funds (ETFs) in Hong Kong. ¹³

Since e-HKD is a digital form of legal tender, the Government believes the significance of e-HKD lies in its potential to serve as the potential “backbone” and anchor bridging legal tender and VA. ¹⁴ The HKMA also puts “DvP settlement of tokenised securities in its pipeline of projects for e-HKD. This would offer settlement efficiency, price stability and confidence to empower more innovations in the field of security token offerings and different types of VA, which in turn increases the competitiveness of the Hong Kong VA market and attract VASPs to operate and settle in Hong Kong. This has the potential of significantly enhancing Hong Kong’s payment efficiency through interoperability and synchronisation with the Faster Payment System (FPS). We welcome such development and look forward to the future enhancement and development of the Hong Kong Fintech ecosystem as a whole.

Please contact our Partner Mr. Rodney Teoh and our Associate Calvin KW Lo for any enquiries or further information.

This news update is for information purposes only. Its content does not constitute legal advice and should not be treated as such. Stevenson, Wong & Co. will not be liable to you in respect of any special, indirect or consequential loss or damage arising from or in connection with any decision made, action or inaction taken in reliance on the information set out herein.

¹ HKMA Position Paper “eHKD – Charting the Next Steps” pp. 9-11
² HKMA Position Paper “eHKD – Charting the Next Steps” pp. 8, 10
³ HKMA Position Paper “eHKD – Charting the Next Steps” p. 36
⁴ HKMA Position Paper “eHKD – Charting the Next Steps” p. 37
⁵ HKMA Position Paper “eHKD – Charting the Next Steps” p. 7
⁶ HKMA paper “e-HKD: A policy and design perspective” p. 35
⁷ HKMA paper “e-HKD: A policy and design perspective” p. 35
⁸ HKMA Position Paper “eHKD – Charting the Next Steps” pp. 15-16
⁹ HKMA Position Paper “eHKD – Charting the Next Steps” p. 18
¹⁰ HKMA Position Paper “eHKD – Charting the Next Steps” p. 29
¹¹ HKMA paper “e-HKD: A policy and design perspective” p. 33
¹² HKMA Position Paper “eHKD – Charting the Next Steps” p. 22
¹³ SFC. Circular on Virtual Asset Futures Exchange Traded Funds.
¹⁴ The Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau. Policy Statement on Development of Virtual Assets in Hong Kong.

On 4 November 2022, our Partner Milly Hung and Senior Associate Michael Lau delivered a hybrid seminar on “Walk through the end-to-end journey in Cyber Risk Management to get you up to speed”. They shed light on the legal issues of current cybersecurity practices, including the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s and Insurance Authority’s compliance guidelines on cybersecurity, Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (“PDPO”), and the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDGR”). The seminar also invited an experienced Cyber-Security Lead in FSI (Financial Service Industry), Mr. Anthony Cheng, to explain the different types of cyberattacks and the available tools/means to tackle in Hong Kong.

From the left: Guest Speaker Mr. Anthony Cheng, our Partner Milly Hung and Senior Associate Michael Lau

For more information, please contact our Partner Milly Hung.

Our Partner Rodney Teoh and his team members, Associate Angela Lau and Paralegal Calvin KW Lo, have recently been invited to be the exclusive contributor to the article “Overview of The Hong Kong Fintech and Blockchain Landscape”, published by The Legal 500: Fintech Country Comparative Guide 2022.

In the article, Rodney and his team explained how Hong Kong Government and the regulators strive to set up an effective regulatory framework for the Fintech industry in Hong Kong by introducing new regimes and pilot projects for token offerings, virtual assets service providers, e-payment services, e-HKD, and more.

About The Legal 500 Country Comparative Guides

The Legal 500 Country Comparative Guides invite the world’s renowned and leading lawyers to contribute chapters on various fields in different country. The Hot Topic articles aim to provide analysis of the latest trends and developments to provide readers with a deeper understanding of the laws and regulations in different key jurisdictions.

Please click here to read the full article on The Legal 500’s website.

For more information, please contact our Partner Rodney Teoh.