City University of Hong Kong (CityU) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and four local universities on 20 October to establish the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) Expert Group.

The MoU was signed by Professor Lu Jian, Dean of the College of Engineering (CEng) at CityU, Mr Colin Pou, JP, Executive Director (Financial Infrastructure) of the HKMA, and representatives from The Chinese University of Hong Kong, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and The University of Hong Kong. The ceremony was attended by Professor Li Minming, Associate Dean of CEng, and Professor Wang Cong, Professor in the Department of Computer Science at CityU.

“With the advancement and popularisation of smart technology, electronic payments and third-party payments have become popular. We are honoured to be a part of the CBDC Expert Group, working alongside the HKMA and other experts to address key policy and technical issues in CBDC research,” said Professor Lu.

“At CityU, we strive to promote innovation and create applicable knowledge for social and economic advancement through teaching, research and knowledge exchange,” he added.

The CBDC Expert Group comprises experts from various academic disciplines, such as business, computer science, economics, finance and law. It aims to facilitate collaboration and knowledge exchange between the HKMA and academia regarding CBDC research. The group will support the exploration of key policy and technical issues surrounding CBDC, and offer advices, training sessions, and workshops pertaining to CBDC and related fintech topics to the HKMA.

The group has already commenced work on two research papers. The first will focus on privacy concerns related to CBDC and evaluate the effectiveness of various privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs). The second paper will discuss the interoperability of CBDCs and examine the viability of blockchain technologies and related standards to facilitate compatibility between different CBDC implementations.