The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) has explored bilateral relations with its international counterpart, Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA).

The two sides discussed a number of initiatives to strengthen collaboration in several common areas, including financial infrastructure development, open market operations, monetary policy, and Fintech. Both parties shared their experiences in research, development and innovation, highlighting areas of development in supervisory technologies (Suptech), tokenization, and payment infrastructure.

To advance the agreed collaborative initiatives, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the two authorities to facilitate the exchange of expertise and knowledge sharing in areas related to regulatory issues, laws and policies, and best practices in the field of financial innovation.

The Chief Executive of the HKMA, Mr. Eddie Yue, said that “There is huge potential for collaboration between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Hong Kong in areas spanning across economy and trade, green development, finance, and particularly in financial technology.”

“The MoU will further enhance cooperation between SAMA and the HKMA through the exchange of information and expertise relating to regulatory issues, policies, laws and legislation, as well as the development of financial innovation. We look forward to working with SAMA to promote investment and financial market connectivity between the Middle East and Asia,” Mr. Yue added.