HKU Fintech

24/12/2025

New & last episode for the season of podcast: "EU Impact Investing Framework & The Social Dimension of CBDCs"

Our last episode of the season presents comprehensive discussions of two significant papers shaping today’s regulatory debates. We first examine "Towards an EU Impact Investing Framework" (Dirk Zetzsche, Marian Unterstell, Ross Buckley, and Douglas Arner), which argues that the EU Sustainable Finance Framework overemphasizes rule‑based, input‑driven compliance and must shift toward verified, outcome‑based impact to avoid misallocation and “impact‑washing.”

We also explore "The Need to Address the Broader Social Dimensions in Any Decision to Issue a Retail CBDC" (Lucien J. van Romburg & Ross Buckley), which argues that CBDC decisions must weigh societal needs, public engagement, inclusion, and real‑world impacts - factors often overlooked when central banks focus narrowly on monetary policy.

Topics dicussed:

▪️ 2:53 - Dr Lucien van Romburg: Social Dimension of CBDCs
▪️ 4:44 - The Core Argument: CBDCs Need Broader Social Consideration
▪️ 9:47 - Stakeholders, Public Participation & When Not to Issue a CBDC
▪️ 15:33 - Retail vs. Wholesale CBDCs Explained
▪️ 21:42 - Inclusion, Consumer Protection & Public Understanding

▪️ 32:11 - Prof. Dirk Zetzsche and Marian Unterstell Overview
▪️ 35:35 - Problems with the EU Sustainable Finance Framework
▪️ 40:28 - Intended Audience & Why Current Regulation Falls Short
▪️ 43:46 - Exclusionary ESG Approaches vs. True Impact Investing
▪️ 49:23 - The Five Reform Points: Shifting from Inputs to Proven Impact
▪️ 54:26 - The Materiality Principle & Reducing Reporting Overload
▪️ 1:00:26 - Key Takeaways: Impact Over Compliance

Listen to the full episode at: hkufintech.com/rr

Regulatory Ramblings is an award-winning podcast brought to you by The University of Hong Kong's Reg/Tech Lab (Building Better Financial Systems), HKU - SCF FinTech Academy, Asia Global Institute, and HKU- edX Professional Certificate in FinTech, with support from HKU Faculty of Law. The program is led by Douglas Arner and hosted by Ajay Shamdasani.

10/12/2025

New Podcast Ep. 84 - From Asset Recovery to AI Revolution: Risk, Coordination, and the Future

This episode brings two powerful conversations on the future of compliance, risk, and governance. On the Spotlight segment: Amber Phillips, senior lecturer in Criminology at UWE Bristol, discusses why accredited financial investigators are critical in fighting fraud and organized crime - and why asset recovery is more than numbers. Amber introduces the “Fifth D” of asset recovery: Destination, highlighting the importance of social impact and turning bad money into good.

Author of a new book "Reshuffle" and senior fellow at the UC Berkeley -Haas School of Business, Sangeet Paul Choudary is a recipient of the Thinkers50 Strategy Award 2025. He reframes as a technology of coordination, not just automation, and explains why AI changes the logic of competition, governance, and value creation - and why judgment, curiosity, and narrative remain humanity’s edge.

🎖️ Regulatory Ramblings is an award-winning podcast, honored with the Agora Award for Excellence in Podcasting by the Compliance Podcast Network for thought leadership in compliance and fintech.

🔗 LISTEN now at: hkufintech.com/rr

This podcast is brought to you by The University of Hong Kong's Reg/Tech Lab (Building Better Financial Systems), HKU-SCF Fintech Academy, Asia Global Institute, and HKU-edX Professional Certificate in FinTech, with support from HKU Law. The program is led by Douglas Arner and hosted by Ajay Shamdasani.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this podcast are solely those of the host and speakers.

09/12/2025

Can ever truly be decentralized without some form of legal order? Or is regulation inevitable?

Read the full paper now on SSRN: “Building Castles in the Sky? The Myth of Decentralized Finance and the Necessity of Legal Ordering” by Dr. Kuzi Charamba, Joyce Shum, and Professor Douglas Arner.

06/12/2025

Our latest HKU FinTech Newsletter at hkufintech.com/news :

⭐ In Looking Back Looking Forward - FinTech is Finance: The Datafication of Everything, Professor Douglas Arner explores how fintech has become the backbone of global finance, driving a digital transformation that spans payments, identity, and data - watch now: https://lnkd.in/gSWiYV9p

⭐ A recent study, Datafying Sustainable Finance: Efficiency and Impact by Design, urges joint industry-regulator development of digital reporting standards, adoption of Green RegTech and SupTech via centralized digital infrastructure, and use of official estimates to ease reporting burdens - especially for SMEs - read here: https://lnkd.in/gJ4K9xdU

⭐ In a new paper, "Building Castles in the Sky? The Myth of Decentralized Finance and the Necessity of Legal Ordering" Kuzi Charamba, Joyce Shum, and Douglas Arner argue that ongoing boom-bust cycles in digital assets highlight the need for legal frameworks for crypto and DeFi, as fully decentralized systems remain largely outside current global and domestic regulations - download now: https://lnkd.in/ggSsiV_j

⭐ In Regulatory Ramblings Ep 83, we spoke with InvestHK's Wendy Chow, and cybersecurity experts Pierre Malgorn & Nicky Au about Hong Kong’s upcoming Critical Infrastructure (Computer Systems) Ordinance - expected January 2026 - explores its cybersecurity framework and what businesses must do to prepare - listen now: hkufintech.com/rr

⭐ In a FutureFintech Working Paper Series on impact investing, Dirk Zetzsche, Marian Unterstell, Ross Buckley, and Douglas Arner argue that advancing impact investing requires shifting from the EU Sustainable Finance Framework’s input-based approach to an EU Impact Finance Framework focused on proven outcomes - download now: https://lnkd.in/g-56f9qd

⭐ CFTE x IBF: Future Skills Forum - get the report from the five critical roundtable sessions bringing together industry leaders, policymakers, and innovators to examine the challenges shaping our AI-driven future - access signup at CFTE: https://lnkd.in/gZGydPcz

26/11/2025

New Podcast Ep #83 on Hong Kong’s Cybersecurity Law: What It Means for Business!

Starting January 1, 2026, Hong Kong will enforce the Protection of Critical Infrastructure Computer Systems Ordinance - a landmark move to strengthen cyber resilience across eight critical sectors. But what does this mean for businesses, and how should they prepare?

In this episode, we speak with Wendy Chow, Head of Digital Technologies & Data Infrastructure at Invest Hong Kong, on why the ordinance is a proactive step to safeguard hashtag ’s global hub status and how InvestHK is providing hands-on support and guidance to help firms adapt.

Following that, Nicky Au (Ensign InfoSecurity) and Pierre Malgorn (I-TRACING Cybersecurity) talk about risk-based approaches, crisis response planning, and why compliance alone isn’t enough in an era of -powered attacks.

Key themes:
▪️ What the ordinance means for Hong Kong’s business ecosystem
▪️ Penalties, liability, and the human factor in cybersecurity
▪️ Building talent and attracting cybersecurity firms
▪️ Aligning with international standards
▪️ AI-driven threats and why genuine security goes beyond box-ticking
▪️ Crisis management: peacetime vs. wartime strategies

🎖️ Regulatory Ramblings is an award-winning podcast, honored with the Agora Award for Excellence in Podcasting by the Compliance Podcast Network for thought leadership in compliance and fintech.

🔗 LISTEN now at: hkufintech.com/rr

This podcast is brought to you by The University of Hong Kong's Reg/Tech Lab (Building Better Financial Systems), HKU - SCF FinTech Academy , Asia Global Institute , and HKU-edX Professional Certificate in FinTech, with support from HKU Faculty of Law. The program is led by Douglas Arner and hosted by Ajay Shamdasani.

12/11/2025

Ep82: Enter Dubai – Digital Dreams in the Desert

has rapidly positioned itself as a global hub for digital assets and virtual finance. But what makes the UAE’s approach so unique -and what can the rest of the world learn from it?

In this episode of Regulatory Ramblings, host Ajay Shamdasani dives deep into the UAE’s bold regulatory playbook with four industry leaders:

🎧 Syed Musheer Ahmed – Managing Director, FinStep Asia; former risk assurance lead at VARA
🎧 Mark Nuttall – Executive advisor on governance and risk across MENA, APAC, and Europe
🎧 Jame DiBiasio – Founder of JDB Advisors; co-author of Arabian Crypto - UAE
🎧 Charles d'Haussy – CEO of dYdX Foundation; fintech influencer and co-author of Block Kong, The Book and Arabian Crypto

Topics discussed include:

▪️ Why Dubai succeeded as a global digital asset hub
▪️ Specialist vs. general regulators
▪️ Outlook for Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Ras Al Khaimah
▪️ VARA’s speed vs. prudence
▪️ Insights from Arabian Crypto and why the book matters now
▪️ TradFi lessons from the UAE’s bold approach
▪️ Are GCC neighbors following the UAE’s lead?

🎧 Tune in to explore how the UAE is shaping the future of crypto, DeFi, and institutional adoption - and what this means for global finance.

👉 hkufintech.com/rr

The Regulatory Ramblings podcast is brought to you by The University of Hong Kong's Reg/Tech Lab (Building Better Financial Systems), HKU-SCF Fintech Academy, Asia Global Institute, and HKU-edX Professional Certificate in FinTech, with support from HKU Law. The program is led by Douglas Arner and hosted by Ajay Shamdasani.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this podcast are solely those of the host and speakers.

11/11/2025

Congratulations to CFTE - Centre for Finance, Technology and Entrepreneurship, in collaboration with - The Institute of Banking & Finance Singapore on the successful 2nd Future Skills Forum.

In the photo: The final session of the forum, led by CFTE co-founder Huy Nguyen Trieu with Douglas Arner, Li Pheow Yeo, and Siok Siok Tan, explored “the complexity of being human in a world of intelligent machines,” featuring audience participation through a live word cloud visualization.

07/11/2025

We are delighted to share that our podcast, , has been honored with this year’s Agora Award by the Compliance Podcast Network! 🏆

The Agora Award celebrates voices that elevate the compliance conversation - those who use podcasting to build community, share knowledge, and inspire ethical leadership. We’re proud to be recognized among such impactful storytellers and thought leaders.

A heartfelt thank you to our listeners, guests, and everyone behind the scenes who make Regulatory Ramblings possible!

29/10/2025

New Episode of Regulatory Ramblings 🎧 Ep 81: Regulation and Risk – Digital Assets, Wealth Migration, and the Compliance Frontier!

In this episode - now live at 🔗hkufintech.com/rr 🔗- we speak with two leading voices in Asia’s financial regulation space:

Donald Day, COO of a Hong Kong-based digital asset platform VDX and former crypto specialist and regulator at the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), unpacks the Supplemental Circular on Intermediaries’ Virtual Asset-Related Activities. He discusses how Hong Kong is expanding access to staking, OTC trading, and in-kind fund subscriptions - while maintaining investor protection and aiming to become a global hub for regulated digital assets.

Philippa Allen, Managing Director of Regulatory Compliance, Asia at , reflects on her 30+ years in compliance. She shares insights on the rise of RegTech, the impact of Chinese HNWI migration to Singapore, and the evolving challenges of AML, PEP screening, and cross-border regulatory collaboration.

Key themes:
▪️ Innovation vs. investor protection in digital assets
▪️ Wealth migration and private banking scrutiny
▪️ FATF standards, RegTech, and behavioral compliance
▪️ Geopolitical risk and regulatory coordination

The Regulatory Ramblings podcast is brought to you by The University of Hong Kong's Reg/Tech Lab (Building Better Financial Systems), HKU-SCF Fintech Academy, Asia Global Institute, and HKU-edX Professional Certificate in FinTech, with support from HKU Faculty of Law. The program is led by Douglas Arner and hosted by Ajay Shamdasani.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this podcast are solely those of the host and speakers.

23/10/2025

𝘞𝘦’𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘴. 𝘕𝘰𝘸, 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯?

Digital assets have created a global financial infrastructure in record time. The next challenge isn’t technology - it’s impact.

In this episode of 𝘓𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘉𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘓𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥, Douglas Arner puts it clearly: “We have an infrastructure that is there at low costs - that can be used with some thought and effort to deliver quite varied and useful products and services to populations around the world.”

Watch & subscribe now at: https://youtu.be/k4dViRcWrxo

Arner is The University of Hong Kong Kerry Holdings Professor in Law and Associate Director - Research Programmes at the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, Cambridge Judge Business School.

In our latest Looking Back Looking Forward, Professor Douglas Arner highlights how digital assets, once experimental, have evolved into a global financial in...

15/10/2025

Breaking Barriers in Global Payments: From Legal Frictions to Digital Rails -
in this episode of , we explore two critical dimensions shaping the future of global payments.

💡Spotlight - Is Swift Breaking the Wall Between Traditional Finance and DeFi? with Syed Musheer Ahmed & Monica Jasuja: Swift’s move into tokenized finance - what does it mean for the convergence of TradFi and DeFi? We discuss blockchain adoption, stablecoins, and whether these innovations truly solve correspondent banking inefficiencies.

💡Extraterritorial Frictions on Cross-Border Payments Laws with M. Konrad Borowicz: Cross-border payments aren’t just a tech challenge - they’re a legal and geopolitical puzzle. We unpack settlement finality, data privacy, AML compliance, and governance, and why regional payment blocs may emerge instead of a global framework.

Key themes include | Now LIVE at hkufintech.com/rr :

▪️ Swift’s blockchain-based settlement strategy
▪️ TradFi–DeFi convergence and tokenization
▪️ Legal frictions in linking payment infrastructures
▪️ Sanctions, sovereignty, and data protection
▪️ Instant payments vs. stablecoins for compliance

14/10/2025

The latest Digital Education Council report found that in education is not a plug-and-play solution. Its impact depends on thoughtful design, intentional integration, and a commitment to strengthening - not replacing - the human relationships at the heart of learning. The report’s global review of 106 case studies reveals how AI is reshaping student engagement across six dimensions.

Find out more at 🔗: https://www.digitaleducationcouncil.com/post/ai-for-student-engagement-a-global-review-of-emerging-strategies