- China appears to be fully committed to its blockchain-by-proxy approach in Hong Kong as CPIC Investment Management , a subsidiary of state-owned China Pacific Insurance – the second largest property insurance company in mainland China – has announced that it will be launching a pair of crypto funds.
“As an international financial center, Hong Kong will take an open and compatible attitude towards global innovators engaged in virtual asset business,” they wrote. “At the same time, Hong Kong will also actively promote the integration of the virtual asset industry and the traditional financial industry.”
Fund I will focus on seed round and private equity round investments for early blockchain projects with a focus on blockchain infrastructure, decentralized financial applications, Web3 Saas service tools, Metaverse and NFT applications. The banks, police, and the Monetary Authority of Singapore are collaborating to improve the vetting process for virtual asset service providers who are looking to open a bank account.
The guidelines will serve more as recommendations than regulations, and it will ultimately be up to the banks to decide whether to accept or decline a client based on their risk appetite. According to the MAS, there are currently no rules that stop banks in Singapore from doing business with firms dealing in digital assets.