HKSAR Government launches industry consultation on proposed amendments to facilitate the digitization of B2B trade documents

The Zhitong Finance App learned that on December 29, the HKSAR Government published a consultation paper on proposed legislative amendments to facilitate the digitization of Hong Kong's “business-to-business” (B2B) trade documents to solicit opinions from the industry. As announced in the 2025-26 Budget and the 2025 Policy Address, the Hong Kong Government will refer to the “Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records” (“Model Law”) initiated by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law to study amendments to facilitate the digitization of trade documents.

After careful study, the relevant departments put forward a proposed framework for amending the Electronic Transactions Ordinance (Chapter 553) (the “Regulations”) and related legislation in the consultation paper to implement the provisions of the Model Law, including various important areas such as scope of application, reliability assessment and operational requirements, to seek opinions from the industry.

The relevant legislative amendments will provide a legal basis for using an electronic transferable record to transfer an electronic version of a document or instrument. In order to harmonize with international standards and facilitate cross-border interoperability, applicable Model Law provisions will be incorporated into the Regulations to the extent possible.

International trade involves presenting or submitting various types of trade documents, including “business-to-government” (B2G) documents and B2B documents. Currently, the industry can use the “government electronic trade service” and “trade single window” to submit the vast majority of B2G trade documents, but due to legal requirements and industry customs, some B2B trade documents still mainly rely on paper settlement. With the rapid development of technology, the digitization of these documents has become a new trend.

A spokesman for the Hong Kong Commerce and Economic Development Council (HKEC) said, “The Government has been committed to maintaining a convenient business environment to enhance Hong Kong's competitiveness in international trade. The digitization of B2B trade documents can reduce processing time and costs, improve transparency and completeness, and help promote international trade. We hope that the proposed legislation will help the industry develop technical solutions that meet actual needs and further strengthen Hong Kong's competitiveness as an international financial, shipping and trade center.”