The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has announced the commencement of Project Ensemble, a new wholesale Central Bank Digital Currency (wCBDC) project to support the development of the tokenisation market in Hong Kong. Prof. Allen Au Man-ho and Prof. Daniel Luo Xiapu, Professors of the Department of Computing and founding members of the CBDC Expert Group, along with other members, have been working closely with HKMA to examine various aspects of CBDCs and related digital currencies, such as interoperability, security, and privacy.

At the core of Project Ensemble is a wCBDC Sandbox that the HKMA will launch this year to further research and test tokenisation use cases, including the settlement of tokenised real-world assets. This could potentially forge a new financial market infrastructure, bridging the gap between tokenised real-world assets and money in transactions.

Prof. Au and Prof. Luo have been collaborating with HKMA on ongoing projects to foster the tokenisation market and draw talent to Hong Kong. They aim to integrate advanced privacy designs that protect consumers' personal identifiable information while balancing privacy and traceability.

Prof. H.C. Man, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, said that PolyU and HKMA's partnership is a testament to our commitment to fostering innovation and technological progression, advancing the digital finance landscape in Hong Kong.