PANews reported on October 19th that the Lianhe Zaobao, citing sources familiar with the matter, reported that Chinese technology companies, including Alibaba's Ant Group and e-commerce giant JD.com, have suspended their plans to issue stablecoins in Hong Kong. Hong Kong passed the Hong Kong Stablecoin Bill in May of this year, which officially came into effect on August 1st. As of the end of September, 36 institutions had submitted applications for stablecoin licenses. Ant Group had previously stated in June that it would participate in Hong Kong's stablecoin pilot program, and JD.com had also stated that it would join the pilot program.