HONG KONG -- The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government will roll out a second policy statement to nurture the development of digital assets, Financial Secretary of the HKSAR government Paul Chan said in a blog post on Sunday.

Chan said Hong Kong had licensed ten digital assets trading platforms since the first policy statement came out in 2022 and is currently processing license applications from eight other.

The new statement will feature measures aimed at combining the respective advantages of traditional financial services and digital assets, ensuring the safe and flexible use of digital assets in the real economy and encouraging local and global firms to explore relevant technologies, Chan said.

Chan expects demand for stablecoins to balloon further as the digital assets market expands. On May 21, the Legislative Council of the HKSAR passed the Stablecoins Bill, which will come into effect on Aug 1.

The HKSAR will foster the development of stablecoins in a steady and prudent manner to create a new paradigm in the global stablecoins market.