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Hong Kong’s first and only tokenised gold trading company is in talks with Beijing to obtain its endorsement for its products, which it believes can help China promote its economy to other Asian countries, the Post has learned. Newly founded Esperanza Fintech, which plans to offer gold and security tokens for live entertainment shows and other projects such as shopping centres, hotels and residential projects, was upbeat on receiving Beijing’s blessing for its operations, a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday. “The firm is in discussions with Beijing authorities. It has confidence in getting its endorsement,” the insider said. Beijing recently released its 15th five-year plan for China’s development, vowing in the blueprint to “fully stimulate” the vitality of all types of business entities and encourage the joint development of various forms of ownership. Spelling out Esperanza’s vision, CEO Dan Ronald Leung Wai-tsun, 37, said a gold-backed tokenised economy offered an alternative capital solution to get around Western fiscal dominance for driving regional economic development amid geopolitical issues. Leung added his firm aspired to reconnect Asian economies and integrate with their respective central bank digital currencies to build autonomy against reliance on Western settlement systems and interest rate policies. “Tokenised gold could be integrated with central bank-led digital renminbi in the future to contribute to the internationalisation of the yuan,” he said. Tokenised gold refers to physical bullion whose ownership rights are stored digitally on a blockchain. Leung said he believed tokenised gold could serve as a settlement currency for Asian countries and boost China’s global trade bargaining power. “What I see is how tokenised gold can assist China to promote its economy elsewhere in Asia,” he said. “Can we use tokenised gold as a settlement currency for all the Asian countries? So this will help China have more of a bargaining chip in international trade discussions. “For example, we can export our services and goods to other Asian countries … as a middleman through tokenisation to assist our country. So we expect the tokenised economy will assist Hong Kong and mainland China in achieving better economic growth.” In his policy address last month, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu pledged to support the development of new investment products such as tokenised gold in Hong Kong as part of the government’s efforts to turn the city into an international gold settlement centre while expediting the development of the digital economy. The firm, which offers trading of gold tokens for redemption of 999.9 1kg gold bars in Hong Kong, has obtained three key licences and registrations from different government departments, including a gold dealer registration, a trusts service licence for holding tokens for clients and an asset management licence for trading of tokens. Leung revealed that the firm had a meeting with the Chief Executive’s Policy Unit, which he said was positive about its operations, expecting to open its tokenised gold offerings to the Hong Kong public after addressing the concerns of the city’s regulatory bodies with a clear regulatory framework being fully implemented in the city. He noted that the government was turning its attention to developing the tokenised economy as Lee’s policy address did not mention the development of virtual assets such as stablecoins. “We firmly believe that Esperanza, armed with first-mover advantages in technology and its business model … will be able to transform tokenised gold into a powerful engine in driving economic autonomy in the Asia-Pacific region,” he said.
