Hong Kong launches GenAI Sandbox++ for AI agent regulation

Hong Kong's major financial regulators—including the HKMA, SFC, IA, and MPFA—have launched the GenAI Sandbox++ in collaboration with Cyberport. This initiative marks a shift from single-bank pilots to a coordinated, cross-sector regulatory platform designed to oversee emerging technologies like Agentic AI, digital currencies, and real-world asset (RWA) tokenization.

The first phase includes 36 use cases from 30 financial institutions and 27 technology partners. Key projects include a collaboration between Bank of China (Hong Kong) and Visa to test autonomous Agentic Commerce payments, and Ant Bank (Hong Kong) using time-series large models for liquidity risk prediction. Manulife is also participating to test multi-modal AI for insurance underwriting and compliance.

Additionally, HKT Payment Limited has been selected to develop an ‘Agentic ID’ framework alongside Red Date Technology. This project aims to address the challenges of verifying AI agents that initiate payments or transfers. By utilizing Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) and zero-knowledge proofs, the framework seeks to link AI agents to verified human or corporate principals, ensuring accountability and data privacy in AI-driven transactions.