Hong Kong Daily Briefing

A Standard Chartered-led joint venture kicked off institutional use of a Hong Kong dollar-backed stablecoin — a significant step in Hong Kong's push to rival Singapore for Asia's regulated digital asset crown. The launch with institutional (not retail) access first is consistent with HKMA's staged approach to stablecoin regulation under its forthcoming Stablecoin Ordinance. For HKEX-listed fintech names and banks with digital asset custody ambitions — including HSBC and Standard Chartered themselves — this is a long-term franchise value builder.

Coreweave, Firmus Technologies, SoftBank, DayOne and AirTrunk are ramping data centre investment across Southeast Asia according to FinanceAsia — a trend with direct implications for HK-listed infrastructure REITs and regional utility plays. Power constraints are flagged as the binding constraint on AI data centre buildout in the region; operators securing power purchase agreements in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand have first-mover advantage. This is a multi-year capex cycle that benefits HK-listed infrastructure investors.

Global infrastructure investor I Squared Capital struck two Asia-Pacific deals: acquiring Indonesian logistics operator Cella and agreeing to a A$1.04 billion deal for Australian out-of-home media company oOh!media. The dual acquisition signals continued global infrastructure capital appetite for Asia-Pacific assets at a time when deal activity has been selectively picking up. For HK-based fund managers tracking private-market deal flow, the I Squared moves suggest infrastructure deal multiples remain firm in the region.