Hong Kong And Singapore Welcome Chinese And South Korean ICOs

While China continues the path of restrictive and ambiguous regulation over its fintech industry, tech companies are slowly moving abroad – to the more welcoming shores of Hong Kong and Singapore, which let them benefit from the rise of the cryptocurrency market.

The number of companies launching ICOs in Singapore and Hong Kong in the past few months has been amazing. Ever since China has banned ICOs and saw them as illegal fundraising tools, the startups present in the country have been looking for places that will allow them grow and prosper.

The moment China clamped down on ICO fundraising was also a moment when Singapore and Hong Kong have filled the gaps to embrace it. As former colonies and financial hubs, both of the countries created policies that will help manage regulation systems for startups looking to launch their ICOs.

Anson Zeall, the chairman of the Association of Cryptocurrency Enterprises and Startups in Singapore, recently commented the situation, stating:

“We cannot say Singapore has become an ICO hub yet, as more work needs to be done, but yes, there has been a lot of activity since September last year.”

Singapore and Hong Kong are currently the obvious choices for many Asian countries looking for the regulatory safe haven. Since Chinese is widely spoken in both cities and the investors are already there, these two countries are far more attractive than any other Asian country.

A lot of experts commented this situation, saying that the ICO inquiries in these countries are increasing at a daily rate. Ben Yates, a lawyer specialized in fintech and cyber law in Hong Kong, also commented the situation, stating:

“It is very likely that the surge in the number of ICO inquiries we have received in the past few months is at least partly a consequence of the restrictions in mainland China.”

What’s most interesting is that to date, neither Singapore nor Hong Kong has developed specific rules for money raising through ICOs. According to some rumors, there are regulatory frameworks for raising money being set up in both countries.