Hong Kong monetary authority (HKMA) has no plans to release the state of digital currency, said a senior official from the Ministry on Wednesday.

During a meeting with legislators Joseph Chan, acting Secretary for financial services and the Treasury, said that the HKMA has studied this subject and came to the conclusion that such a currency would be less useful for Hong Kong than for some other jurisdictions.

“The HKMA conducted its own study issued by the Central Bank of digital currency. The HKMA notes that the benefits and effectiveness of such currency will depend on the specific circumstances in the jurisdiction. In the context of Hong Kong’s existing efficient payment infrastructure makes a currency less attractive. At this stage, the HKMA plans to issue a currency, but continues to monitor developments at the international level”, — he said.

In April last year for the first time the HKMA has informed that is engaged “studying and creating proofs of concept issued by the Central Bank of digital currency”. At the same time the Agency stated that it will complete the first stage of the project until the end of 2017 and its result will decide on further action.

The last statement of Chan was a response to the request of the legislator Dennis Kwok, sent on 18 may. According to the published document, Kwok wanted to know whether the government intends to issue its own digital currency to maintain the competitiveness of Hong Kong in the field of financial innovation.

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