TradFi Giants Explore the Web3 Path: Taibao Hong Kong's RWA Practices

Recently, a dialogue about the integration of financial institutions and Web3 has attracted widespread attention. During the dialogue, Mr. Zhou Chenggang, the founder and CEO of China Pacific Insurance Investment Management (Hong Kong), shared his insights on blockchain technology, digital assets, and the future trends of RWA.

Zhou Chenggang stated that Taibao Hong Kong's entry into the RWA field is a natural progression. As managers of TradFi assets, they obtained relevant licenses two years ago and have issued multiple cryptocurrency funds. They hope to fill market gaps by tokenizing real-world assets to provide substantively backed asset products for the Web3 ecosystem, while also changing certain biases that the traditional financial sector has towards Web3.

In the process of exploring Web3, Taibao Hong Kong has also faced many challenges. Zhou Chenggang pointed out that the current Web3 infrastructure is still not mature enough, especially in areas such as asset custody, banking interfaces, and fund administration services. Nevertheless, they are still striving to incorporate the decades of experience and standards accumulated in TradFi into Web3 asset management, particularly in terms of security, risk control, and compliance.

Regarding the choice of asset tokenization, Zhou Chenggang stated that they are currently only focusing on financial assets and not involving physical assets. This is because ensuring a strong connection between the token and the underlying asset is the most fundamental and challenging aspect. Financial assets, especially standardized assets such as fund shares, have a legal framework that makes it easier to guarantee this binding relationship, and they are also more convenient for regulation and custody.

Zhou Chenggang emphasized that the core of asset tokenization lies in lowering investment thresholds, expanding the investor base, and enhancing efficiency. If tokenization cannot bring significant improvements in liquidity, efficiency, or security, it loses its meaning. Therefore, the key is to address the "why" of doing it, rather than just the "what" and "how."

For other traditional financial institutions, Zhou Chenggang suggested establishing dedicated innovation teams or Web3 business units, reserving composite talents who understand both finance and on-chain mechanisms, and choosing trustworthy, secure, and compliant technology cooperation platforms. He believes that RWA is the closest path to traditional financial logic and is also the most likely to achieve large-scale implementation, which is worth more institutions investing in.

Overall, Taikang Hong Kong's practice demonstrates the possibility of integrating TradFi with Web3. This combination not only maintains a compliance-driven mindset but also showcases a spirit of innovation. As more institutions join, we can expect to witness further development and maturation of on-chain finance.