About the talk:

With Hong Kong recently launching the world’s first Real World Asset (RWA) registry platform, the conversation around tokenization has never been more timely for Hong Kong’s technologically enabled professionals. Against a backdrop of rapid regulatory and technological advancements across Asia—particularly in markets like Singapore and Japan—real estate is emerging as a critical testbed for tokenization’s real-world impact.

In collaboration with ULI, this panel hopes to bring in thoughts from the intersection of finance, technology, and real estate to explore:

– The latest developments in Asia’s tokenization ecosystem
– Legal and regulatory hurdles shaping adoption
– Practical applications and benefits of tokenization for real estate investors and developers

Moderator: Ramaswamy Shravan

Shravan Ramaswamy is currently an Associate at BGO Strategic Capital Partners, where he supports the firm’s Asia Pacific team in real estate investment and research efforts. Prior to joining BGO, Shravan studied at HKUST, majoring in Global Business and Information Systems where he explored the intersection of technology and finance looking into emerging applications shaping the two industries and how they can be applied.

Speakers:

1) Tony Chang, Esperanza

Tony Chang is Co-Founder, Group Deputy CEO and Chief Financial Officer of Esperanza, where he leads capital strategy and the development of tokenized investment solutions.

Since its launch, Esperanza has built a regulated foundation for tokenized real-world assets, advancing compliant digital gold and tokenized investment products in close collaboration with regional sovereign players, regulators and industry partners, with a mission to connect and develop Asian economies through a trusted, scalable and compliant tokenization infrastructure.

Previously, Tony worked in capital markets and virtual asset fund management at Tykhe Capital, and led strategy, fundraising, and ecosystem partnerships for its trading platform subsidiary, where he also co-authored industry-leading STO whitepapers.

2) Padraig Walsh, Tanner de Witt

Padraig Walsh is a Partner at Tanner De Witt, where he leads the firm’s Technology, Media & Telecommunications practice and advises clients on complex legal issues at the intersection of technology, data privacy, cybersecurity, fintech, and corporate transactions.

He has over 20 years of experience representing technology sector clients and advising on matters including technology licensing, digital asset commercialisation, regulatory compliance, data protection and cyber risk, venture capital and corporate deals. Padraig is also recognised for his work on emerging technology and virtual asset regulation and is active in industry groups including the Fintech Association of Hong Kong and privacy-law networks.