Mirae Asset Securities' Hong Kong unit said on Tuesday it received final approval from Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) for a "digital asset retail licence (VA License Uplift)" for the first time among South Korean securities firms.

Mirae Asset Securities' Hong Kong unit plans to open a mobile trading system in June and officially launch digital asset trading services for individual investors in Hong Kong. It plans to provide an integrated investment environment covering traditional assets such as stocks and bonds as well as digital assets.

It also plans to introduce a service that allows Hong Kong clients to invest in the South Korean stock market.

Mirae Asset Securities plans to use its Hong Kong business as a starting point to expand its digital asset business to major global financial markets such as the United States and Singapore, and to strengthen its platform competitiveness for global retail investors.

Sung Jun-yup (성준엽), head of Mirae Asset Securities' Hong Kong unit, said, "Through acquiring this licence, we have built an ecosystem that organically connects traditional assets and digital assets." He added, "Going forward, we plan to develop it into a comprehensive platform that integrates real-world assets (RWA) and tokenisation-based digital assets on the mobile platform."

He also said, "Over the mid to long term, we will continue expanding the Web3 financial ecosystem while expanding our digital asset business model in the Chinese market as well."