I trust that the outcomes and insights gained from each of the above pilots should help enrich our perspective and refine our focus and priority of the Pilot Programme in subsequent years. CBDC Expert Group Besides the Pilot Programme, the HKMA is also fostering closer government-industryacademia collaboration on CBDC research. We plan to form a CBDC Expert Group to bring together leading professors from local universities, who will come from different fields, such as computer science, business and law. I am glad to tell you that we have already received very positive response from the academia and have started the preparation work with these top-notch experts. The HKMA will work with the Expert Group to study different important issues, such as privacy protection, cybersecurity, and interoperability, and other technical and business aspects surrounding CBDC. While members of the Expert Group do not have any  2/3  BIS - Central bankers' speeches  formal advisory role, they will provide us with valuable insights and contribute to our future deliberations on CBDC. Closing In closing, I would say that Project e-HKD is a hugely complex and challenging undertaking. I said earlier that the project goes well beyond just technology. It will take our collective wisdom and effort to create innovative use cases so that in the end, if eHKD were implemented, there could be widespread adoption so as to achieve the network effect required of any successful retail payment instrument. This is going to be a long and winding journey.
Eddie Yue: Opening remarks at the commencement event of e-HKD Pilot Programme Opening remarks by Mr Eddie Yue, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, at the commencement event of e-HKD Pilot Programme, Hong Kong, 18 May 2023. *** Good afternoon, everyone. A very warm welcome to all of you for joining today's commencement of the e-HKD Pilot Programme, especially to those of you flying from other parts of the world. Central bank digital currency, or CBDC, is one of the hottest topics in the central banking community today. Over a hundred central banks are studying it and a few dozens of them are working on various types of pilot trials. The HKMA has been researching and piloting on CBDC since 2017. Apart from the exciting work that we are doing with our three partner central banks on the application of wholesale CBDC under Project mBridge, the HKMA has also been exploring the prospect of issuing retail CBDC, or e-HKD, in Hong Kong. e-HKD is Beyond Technology We conducted two rounds of market consultation in the past two years. Overall, the respondents are supportive of the e-HKD initiative and believe that e-HKD has the potential to make payments faster and more efficient while supporting the digital economy. However, we are cognizant of the fact that e-HKD is not and should not be merely a technology project.