Hong Kong authorities are moving toward issuing the city’s first stablecoin licenses, with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority targeting March for an initial round. Market expectations, however, have been carefully managed. Based on regulatory signals and industry briefings, the first batch is widely expected to be limited, likely to no more than three to five…
When Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary Paul Chan addressed stablecoins at the 2026 World Economic Forum in Davos, the significance of his remarks lay not in grand ambition but in their restraint. There were no sweeping claims about reshaping global finance, nor statements framing stablecoins as a challenge to existing monetary systems. Instead, Chan outlined something…
This article was first published by Pacific Forum. It is republished with permission. On October 13 of this year, the state media outlet China Energy News Network reported that China is pulling ahead in advanced nuclear power technology development with the launch of the large-scale production “Hualong One” (also known as HPR1000). As it develops, China not…
Editor’s Note: The following is a slightly abridged version of Noahpinion’s “At least five interesting things: Smart Ideas edition (#71)”, published on November 8. 1. Are we wrong on antitrust? In the 2000s and 2010s, America generally saw slow growth, low levels of business investment, and low business dynamism. We also saw increasing levels of…
China is adding new diplomatic moves to justify its military threat to coerce Taiwan into submitting to rule from Beijing. In a formal position paper delivered to the United Nations last month, China declared that China’s sovereignty over Taiwan was guaranteed by the 1971 UN resolution that recognized the Peoples Republic of China as the…
During the Cold War, the US and Soviet Union were locked in a desperate race to develop cutting‑edge technologies like long-range missiles and satellites. Fast forward to today and the frontiers of global technology have pivoted to AI and next‑generation energy. In one domain, AI, the US has far outpaced any other nation – though…
Originally published by Pacific Forum, this article is republished with permission. The launch of the United Kingdom’s Strategic Defence Review has finally set down a clear direction for the UK’s strategic posture for at least a parliament, perhaps longer. The most instrumental element in the paper is the decision to focus on the Euro-Atlantic as the priority…
TOKYO – Tokamak Energy, the UK’s leading nuclear fusion technology developer, has become part of Japan’s energy innovation strategy. After several years of building relations with Japanese government agencies, corporations and academic and scientific institutions, Tokamak Energy established a subsidiary in Tokyo in February and won a “green transformation” award from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government…
One major consequence of the UK government’s resistance to rejoining the European single market is that it is forced to go around the world seeking trade deals and investment. Recently, the government has boasted of successful arrangements with India and the US and of some new agreements with the EU. But it has also found…