Gov’t to table bill on digital B2B trade documents within 2026

The proposal follows an industry consultation launched in December 2025.

Hong Kong will introduce a bill within the year to give electronic business-to-business (B2B) trade documents a clearer legal footing, covering instruments such as bills of lading and bills of exchange.

The move is intended to reduce administrative costs and improve traceability of trading activities, Chief Executive John Lee said in his 2026 Policy Address.

The proposal follows an industry consultation launched in December 2025 on amendments to the Electronic Transactions Ordinance. 

The changes would provide a legal basis for electronic transferable records, or digital versions of documents that can be transferred between parties to represent rights to goods or payments.

The proposed framework would cover documents including bills of exchange, promissory notes and bills of lading.

Furthermore, it will allow qualifying transferable instruments to be recognised without requiring fresh legislative amendments for each new document type.