ICBC Asia and HSBC have expressed their intention to apply for stablecoin licenses in Hong Kong, as reported by the Hong Kong Economic Journal. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority plans to issue a limited number of licenses initially, with 77 institutions showing interest by the end of August. ICBC Asia has already applied, following Bank of China (Hong Kong) as the second major Chinese bank to do so. Standard Chartered and Bank of China (Hong Kong) are expected to be among the first recipients of these licenses.