Fintech firm Ant International, the global affiliate of Chinese tech giant Ant Group, said it would apply for a stablecoin issuer licence in Hong Kong once the new ordinance governing fiat-backed cryptocurrencies comes into effect in August.
“We welcome the passage of the Stablecoins Bill … and hope to contribute more to the city’s vision as a global hub for next-gen finance,” Ant International said in a statement on Thursday. “We plan to apply for the fiat-referenced stablecoins issuer’s licence once the process is open after the Stablecoins Ordinance takes effect on August 1.”
The statement comes as a show of support for Hong Kong’s ambition to stay at the forefront of global finance. Ant International also plans to apply for a stablecoin licence in Singapore, where the company is based, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. Ant Group is an affiliate of Alibaba Group Holding, owner of the South China Morning Post.
On May 21, Hong Kong’s Legislative Council passed a law requiring that issuers of stablecoins – which are typically backed one-to-one by fiat currencies such as the US dollar – be licensed by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. The government announced last week that the law would take effect in August, at which point companies can apply for the licence. This makes the city one of the first jurisdictions to introduce detailed regulations governing the issuance of stablecoins, coming ahead of the US Genius Act currently making its way through the Senate.
Several other companies have already announced plans to apply for the licence and issue Hong Kong dollar-backed stablecoins. Some have been testing use cases in a government-backed stablecoin sandbox, including Jingdong Coinlink Technology, a subsidiary of JD.com, Alibaba’s main e-commerce rival in mainland China.
For Ant, the move aligns with the company’s broader goal of enhancing its global business with expanded treasury capabilities and banking partnerships. Ant International said in the statement that it intended to “transform our cutting-edge AI, blockchain and stablecoin technologies into reliable, large-scale real-world applications”.
