Minister for Digital and Financial Services for the Government of Gibraltar, Mr Albert Isola has participated in the Hainan Free Trade Port International Cooperation Forum on Digital Economy and Blockchain in Hainan, China.
The Forum was held over December 5th and 6th and was jointly organised by the Hainan Government, the Finance Center for South-South Cooperation (FCSSC), and Huobi China, along with the Hainan Resort Software Community (RSC). Minister Isola attended at the invitation of Leon Li, Founder of Huobi Group, who was also on hand to deliver a keynote speech.
Minister Isola participated in a Governmental panel entitled “International Exchange and Cooperation in Digital Economy” which was moderated by Xiaoping Wu, Chairman of the Board of China Invest. The panel also included senior representatives from Bahrain, Russia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Kazakhstan.
The distinguished panellists discussed a number of topics, including the significance of the digital economy to their respective country’s economic development. The panel also provided an opportunity for Minister Isola to share insights on policies relating to digital economy cooperation in Gibraltar. Following the panel discussion, Minister Isola joined fellow international representatives and officials from formal bodies in the signing ceremony bringing into effect the “International Cooperation Forum on Blockchain and Digital Finance”.
Mr Isola also held private meetings with Country Representatives and prospective firms as well as with Professor Jianpeng Deng of Central University of Finance and Economics in Beijing. Professor Jianpeng, who has published a book in China exploring Gibraltar’s DLT Regulatory Framework, presented a personalised copy of the book to Minister Isola at the conclusion of the meeting.
Minister Isola was accompanied on this visit by Gibraltar Finance Senior Executives, Michael Ashton and Paul Astengo, who also attended several other meetings geared towards the development of new commercial initiatives.
During the visit, Mr Astengo contributed to a panel which centred on a discussion on the “Belt and Road Countries – New Opportunities in the Digital Economy”, moderated by Danny Deng, Chairman of Beijing Tai Cloud Technology Corporation and Executive Director and Second Chairman of China Blockchain Application Center (CBAC). Other panellists included representatives from Singapore, Malaysia, Dubai, Indonesia and The Commodity and Futures Trading Regulatory Agency (CoFTRA).
In addition to supporting Minister Isola’s schedule, Michael and Paul fulfilled a number of pre-arranged media commitments over the course of the forum, with Paul being interviewed by Jinse Finance, China’s largest blockchain media outlet. Michael attended a joint press conference hosted by Leon Li, Founder of Huobi Group at the close of the first day of the forum, and also met with Bill Roscoe, Director of Oxford University Blockchain Research Center who have established a research facility in Hainan.
Attendance at the prestigious forum further cements Gibraltar’s credentials as a leader in the field of new technologies on the global stage, and underlines the strengthening ties between Gibraltar and China in the pursuit of DLT innovation.
