New Book from AIIFL Fellow

Rethinking the Regulation of Cryptoassets: Cryptographic Consensus Technology and the New Prospect

Syren Johnstone, Executive Director of the Master of Laws in Compliance and Regulation Programme, Faculty of Law, The University of Hong Kong

This thought-provoking book challenges the way we think about regulating cryptoassets. Bringing a timely new perspective, Syren Johnstone critiques the application of a financial regulation narrative to cryptoassets, questioning the assumptions on which it is based and whether regulations developed in the 20th century remain fit to apply to a technology emerging in the 21st.

More information about the book is available HERE.

Hear the Podcast.

Institute of International Finance Podcast with Brad Carr

FRT Episode 98: The Platformization of Finance, with Prof Douglas Arner

Brad Carr’s episode introduction:

“Prof. Doug Arner of Hong Kong University takes us through the experiences with China’s FinTech platforms, including the rise of Ant Financial and subsequent regulatory responses. He emphasizes the key role that data had played throughout this journey, and we discuss the innovative approaches that have been deployed to encourage funding for SMEs.”  Read more

Panel Discussion | Stanford Law School - CodeX

Asia Segment on Cryptoassets

Watch AIIFL fellow Syren Johnstone (Executive Director of the LLM-Compliance and Regulation Programme, HKU Faculty of Law) discuss technology’s transformation in the legal profession while exploring the relationship between regulation and industry development in this year’s Blockchain@FutureLaw 2021 panel discussion: “Ontogenetic Perspectives”, hosted by Stanford Law School / CodeX.   READ MORE

Barefoot Innovation Group Podcast

Around the world: HKU’s Douglas Arner

Jo Ann Barefoot’s episode introduction excerpt:

“Maybe best of all, Doug shares his insights on China. He describes the Chinese government’s formula for launching experimentation, in which they watch digitized activities evolve in an unregulated environment, and then step in to regulate based on what emerges. He shares insights on when this experimentation has worked, and when it has failed, citing both P2P lending and the growth of the enormous Chinese payments platforms as examples. On the payment platforms, he cites particular success in lending to small enterprises, which as he says, is a grand challenge for every country. At the same time, he talks about the platforms raising huge risks of market concentration. He talks about emerging thinking that perhaps data should be treated as a public good.”

In the Media: TVB's Central Bank Digital Currency - Part 2

Central Bank Digital Currencies – CBDCs 2.0

Professor Douglas Arner shares his views on Libra’s challenges to world currencies and Facebook’s emerging electronic payment system in Part 2 of TVB’s Central Bank Digital Currencies​ 2.0. The programme examines the use of wholesale and retail Central Bank Digital Currencies across d​ifferent countries.  READ MORE

In the Media: TVB's Central Bank Digital Currency - Part 1

The Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs)

A look at what Central Bank Digital Currency or CBDCs are, how they work and how they may change the way we transact including interviews with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority chief executive Eddie Yue, the University of Hong Kong Kerry Holdings professor Douglas Arner, and Pricewaterhouse Coopers’s Gary Ng.

OMFIF Podcast

Fintech, payments, and CBDC in China – Part 1

Bhavin Patel, head of fintech at OMFIF, speaks with Douglas Arner, Kerry Holdings Professor in Law and director of the Asian Institute of International Law at the University of Hong Kong, and Charles Chang, deputy dean of academics, professor of finance and director of the fintech research centre at Fanhai International School of Finance, Fudan University.

In this two-part series they discuss the Chinese fintech space, focussing on payments, regulations and the Chinese central bank digital currency project. In this first part they discuss China’s fintech growth, how it became a global leader, the country’s approach to fintech regulation and newer entrants, and the likely effectiveness of the DC/EP in a private sector dominated market.

OMFIF Podcast

Fintech, payments, and CBDC in China – Part 2

Bhavin Patel, head of fintech at OMFIF, speaks with Douglas Arner, Kerry Holdings Professor in Law and director of the Asian Institute of International Law at the University of Hong Kong, and Charles Chang, deputy dean of academics, professor of finance and director of the fintech research centre at Fanhai International School of Finance, Fudan University.

In this two-part series they discuss the Chinese fintech space, focusing on payments, regulations and the Chinese central bank digital currency project. In the second part of their discussions, they discuss China’s digital currency/electronic payment. They look at how effective it may be, how it will integrate with a market dominated by the private sector, its possible disintermediation impact on incumbents, as well as how it can become a cross-border central bank digital currency.

AIIFL Partners and Network Resources

Financial Statements Series: Hong Kong as an International Financial Center

Watch this virtual discussion with host Nicolas Veron Senior Fellow  at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, on the evolution of Hong Kong as an international financial center, and its prospects and role over the short and longer term. Guests include Professor Douglas Arner, Director of the Asian Institute of International Financial Law at the University of Hong Kong and Lorin Gu, Investor and Founding Director at the PIIE – Global Future Council. This panel discussion was held on 12 May 2021.

AIIFL Partners and Network Resources

Open Banking in Qatar

Watch this Qatar University Centre for Law and Development seminar on “Open Banking in Qatar” talking about data, protection, regulation across financial systems with Otabek Ismailov, Andrew Dahdal, Douglas Arner and Ross Buckley. This e-Seminar was held on 24 May 2021.

AIIFL Partners and Network Resources

Anatomy of structured products

Dentons Hong Kong hosted a webinar on anatomy of structured products. During this one-hour webinar, AIIFL Professional Advisory Board member Jeffrey Chen (partner, head of structured finance, Dentons) gave a step-by-step introduction to the anatomy of how structured products are put together. He also related his experience on the unwinding of “Lehman minibonds” in Hong Kong and the implications for “wealth management products” in China. This webinar was held on 23 September 2020.

AIIFL Partners and Network Resources

Digital Davos 2021: Central Bank Digital Currencies

Professor Arner (Kerry Holdings Professor in Law at the University of Hong Kong) joins Digital Davos 2021 in their segment on Central Bank Digital Currencies.