Description

Central banks across the globe explore Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) concepts as a new type of public money that responds to the world’s ever increasing cashless trend and addresses existing issues in cashless payment transactions. Especially China’s plans to issue a digital renminbi are often
praised as the new gold standard for the modernisation of currencies. However, CBDC issued to the public come with risks for the financial sector and unprecedented challenges for central banks.
The talk presents the main features of CBDC, the objectives that central banks pursue with their introduction and the risks associated with them. It discusses the pilot projects of the People’s Bank of China and the Eurosystem and addresses the crucial question whether Singapore needs a digital dollar.

About the Speaker

Dr Christian Hofmann joined NUS Law in 2013. Prior to that, he was Professor of Private and Business Law at the Private University in Liechtenstein (UFL) and a senior legal counsel with the German central bank. Since joining NUS, he has held numerous visiting positions in Asia, continental Europe and the UK. He specialises in financial regulation, law of central banking, sovereign debt restructuring and comparative corporate and civil law. Dr Hofmann is the Head of Central Banking and Financial Regulation at the Centre for Banking & Finance Law and the Deputy Director of the Centre for Asian Legal Studies at NUS Law.