Hong Kong issues world’s first government tokenised green bonds worth US$102 million, with offer attracting strong investor interest
- The success of the tokenised green bond shows Hong Kong’s strengths in combining bond market, green and sustainable finance as well as fintech, financial secretary says
- The offering attracted strong interest from institutional investors, says Bank of China (Hong Kong), one of the deal’s global coordinators
The one-year Hong Kong dollar-denominated tokenised green bond, priced at 4.05 per cent, was offered to global institutional investors after virtual roadshows arranged by Bank of China (Hong Kong), Credit Agricole, Goldman Sachs and HSBC earlier this week.
“The successful issuance of this tokenised green bond marks an important milestone as it demonstrates Hong Kong’s strengths in combining bond market, green and sustainable finance as well as fintech,” Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said in a statement.
Tokenising a bond means recording the beneficial interests in a bond using distributed ledger technology rather than in traditional computerised book entries.
“This issuance has drawn strong interest from institutional investors and serves as a testament to the diversity and innovativeness of Hong Kong’s financial market,” said Sun Yu, vice-chairman and CEO of Bank of China (Hong Kong), one of the joint global coordinators of the deal.
In October, Hong Kong unveiled a range of planned measures, including tokenised green bond offerings and allowing retail investors to trade digital assets products later this year, to turn the city into a virtual asset trading hub.