Hong Kong's doors are open to Web3 entrepreneurs, Paul Chan says

Hong Kong’s doors are open to Web3 entrepreneurs and institutions worldwide who want to build and scale their business, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said, stressing the city’s strong focus on risk management and investor protection.

Speaking at the Hong Kong Web3 Festival 2026, Chan said that as Web3 is maturing, financial institutions around the world are increasingly using digital assets and tokenization to enhance efficiency, cut costs, shorten settlement times, and devise innovative products for clients.

Chan said the intersection of Web3 and AI is a “game changer,” which will lift transaction efficiency to a new level, reshaping a wide range of activities - from finance and trade to wealth management, supply chain operations and logistics.

While this combination will create massive new opportunities, it also raises many issues that the world must address together, Chan said. 

“We need common standards and close cross-border co-operation” in the global Web3 environment, and need to ensure that AI behaviour remains predictable, traceable and open to human intervention, as well as to address risks such as cybersecurity threats, scams and system bias in a coordinated way, he noted.

The festival, the largest crypto event in Asia, according to the organizers, takes place from Monday to Thursday. 

At the same event, China Kingstone Mining chief executive Chin Then Hin said awareness remains the real bottleneck for Web3 despite the launch of stablecoins in the city with government backing.

Adoption ultimately depends on circulation, and circulation begins with public understanding and trust, he said. 

This requires stronger, more consistent education and outreach—especially around concepts like stablecoins and real-world assets (RWA)—led by the government, so people can clearly grasp what these are, build confidence, and be willing to use them, he added.