China state-owned Greenland to apply for Hong Kong virtual asset trading license
A Greenland Holdings subsidiary is applying for a virtual asset trading license in Hong Kong, the South China Morning Post reported. It is the first state-owned Chinese company to do so.
Greenland Financial Technology Group CEO James Geng Jing told the Hong Kong newspaper that a new company dedicated to virtual asset trading would be set up and apply for licensing in Hong Kong. Virtual asset trading platforms will need a license to operate or market themselves in that region under Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) rules that go into effect June 1.
Greenland already holds two licenses from the SFC — for securities advising and asset management. It applied for a virtual bank license in 2018 but was not selected. Geng said the new Greenland unit would trade cryptocurrencies, nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and products related to carbon emissions.
Related: China state-backed firm launches two crypto funds in Hong Kong
Greenland Financial Technology Group received a digital banking license in Singapore in 2020. Geng told the newspaper:
“Having sound regulation and investor protection is the key for Hong Kong to develop as a virtual asset trading hub,” Geng added.
Greenland Financial Technology Group is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Greenland Holdings, a Shanghai-based real estate developer that is 46.4% owned by the Shanghai municipal government. It has branched out into several other sectors in recent years, including fintech.
#BlocklikeNews A unit of Greenland Holdings, Greenland Financial Technology Group, is planning to apply for a licence to trade virtual assets in Hong Kong, according to a senior executive, according to South China Morning Post. pic.twitter.com/y01YjSeBkb
Cryptocurrency exchanges Huobi Global and OKX,
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