By Summer Zhen

HONG KONG (Reuters) - The Hong Kong government has responded for the first time to questions about the use of cryptocurrencies as proof of wealth for an immigration scheme after a local accountant talked publicly about two cases that had accepted the digital assets.

Clement Siu, a Hong Kong-based certified public accountant, told media he had handled two cases where bitcoin and ether were used as proof of clients' assets.

Cryptocurriences are not approved assets for direct investment under the immigration scheme, but Siu's cases suggested they can be used as proof of a potential immigrant's wealth, underscoring their growing recognition as a mainstream asset.

Hong Kong's investment promotion department, InvestHK, which handles applications for the New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme (New CIES), said there were "no specific requirements" around asset classes when asked if cryptocurrencies were acceptable assets.

Hong Kong relaunched an investment immigration scheme in March 2024 to attract capital. Applicants must show they control assets worth at least HK$30 million ($3.9 million), and then invest that in some approved assets in order to obtain residency.

"InvestHK has never said whether crypto assets are acceptable or not, but they encouraged us to give it a try, so we just tried," Siu, a deputy managing partner at Global Vision CPA Limited, which issues accountant reports for immigration applicants, told Reuters.

InvestHK did not comment specifically on the cases Siu highlighted and did not say how many immigration applications had been accepted using cryptocurrencies as proof of wealth.

Hong Kong is competing against regional rivals such as Singapore and Dubai to become the global hub for virtual assets.

"Accepting virtual assets as proof of assets shows that virtual assets have the same status as traditional assets in Hong Kong, this is an important step in promoting the mainstreaming of virtual assets," said Jupiter Zheng, a partner at HashKey Capital.

Hong Kong's investment immigration scheme is not open to mainland Chinese, but they can circumvent this restriction if they obtain permanent residence in a third country, analysts say. That could raise concerns about potential evasion of China's capital controls.

Siu said one of his clients who used ether as proof of wealth was a Chinese national holding Guinea-Bissau residency.

Hong Kong government data for June showed that nearly 80% of more than 250 New CIES applicants were from Guinea-Bissau or Vanuatu.

($1=7.78 Hong Kong dollars)

(Reporting by Summer Zhen: Editing by Neil Fullick)