Opening Remarks at the Cargo x Solution Day

On 5 October 2026, HKMA Deputy Chief Executive Howard Lee delivered remarks at the Cargox Solution Day, highlighting Hong Kong’s robust export growth amid strong trade momentum and underscoring the HKMA’s push for trade finance digitalisation to support SMEs. He explained that the 2022-launched Commercial Data Interchange (CDI) resolves long-standing trade data fragmentation and paper-document inefficiencies, connecting 17 data sources and 28 banks to lower SME financing costs. Building on CDI, the HKMA rolled out Project Cargox to advance digital trade finance, with ongoing efforts to expand the local data infrastructure into a cross-border, multilateral system linking Hong Kong with mainland China and ASEAN. Lee noted the regional connectivity will deliver triple-win benefits for Hong Kong traders, mainland enterprises and ASEAN partners via streamlined trade verification, faster financing access and inclusive SME development. Looking ahead, the HKMA plans to scale the data-driven trade finance model across key regional trade corridors to build a more efficient, interconnected global digital trade ecosystem that benefits traders, banks and data providers alike.