The development of digital finance in Hong Kong and the Asia-Pacific

In this episode, we’ll explore the transformation of finance in one of the world’s most dynamic regions. From cutting-edge fintech innovations to the shifting role of traditional banking systems, we’ll uncover how digital finance is reshaping economies across Asia-Pacific. We’ll also spotlight Hong Kong—a global financial hub and a driving force behind this revolution—as it positions itself at the forefront of digital finance. 

Our Guest

Ben Hammond

Ben is the managing partner of Ashurst’s Hong Kong office and a partner in the firm’s financial services regulatory group. He leads its non-contentious regulatory practice in the territory, where he is currently based, and advises clients in a broad range of transactional and non-transactional regulatory areas.

With his extensive expertise in digital economy matters, Ben has advised clients across a broad range of regulatory areas. Most notably, in February 2023, he advised Goldman Sachs on the use of its tokenisation platform, GS DAPTM, for the issuance of an HK$800 million tokenised green bond for the Hong Kong government – it was the first tokenised green bond issued by a government globally.

A year later, this past February, Ben led a team supporting HSBC as the platform provider to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority – the city’s banking regulator and de facto central bank – on the world’s first multi-currency “digitally native” bond offering.

Our Host

Ajay Shamdasani

Ajay Shamdasani is a veteran writer, editor and researcher based in Hong Kong. He holds an AB in history and government from Ripon College, JD and MIPCT degrees from the University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce Law School, and an LLM in financial regulation from the Illinois Institute of Technology’s Chicago-Kent College of Law.

His 15-year long career as a financial and legal journalist began as deputy editor of A Plus magazine – the journal of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants. From there, he assumed the helm of Macau Business magazine as its editor-in-chief, and later, joined Asialaw magazine as its deputy editor.

More recently, he spent close to seven years as a senior correspondent with Thomson Reuters’ subscription-based trade-wire service Regulatory Intelligence/Compliance Complete (previously called Complinet) in Hong Kong. While there, he covered regulatory developments in that city, as well as Singapore, India and South Korea.