Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, HKMA Launch Joint Pilot on Digital Payments for After-Hours Derivatives Trading

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority announced on June 18 that they launched a joint pilot project to study a new digital payment solution for the after-hours trading session in the derivatives market. According to Jin10, the pilot aims to enhance Hong Kong’s capital markets and meet growing demand for continued trading after the market close. HKEX and the HKMA are studying the introduction of the “digital Hong Kong dollar,” a wholesale central bank digital currency designed to operate on a 24/7 basis, for paying pre-deposited margin during the after-hours trading session. The initiative is intended to strengthen risk management in the derivatives market outside bank business hours while keeping existing operational processes unchanged.