HSBC has completed a private placement of its first digitally native structured product in Hong Kong.
The bank issued US dollar-denominated notes in a digitally native format on blockchain infrastructure, exploring how tokenisation can streamline key stages of the product lifecycle, including issuance, settlement and servicing.
Marketnode, an APAC digital market infrastructure operator, supported the transaction. The firm acted as both the tokenisation agent and the digital paying agent, managing payment flows between HSBC and the investor.
“Tokenisation can help make markets more efficient and accessible by streamlining key steps across product lifecycles, from issuance and settlement through to ongoing administration,”
said Suvir Loomba, Regional Head of Securities Services, Asia, at HSBC.
Testing HSBC structured notes on-chainStructured products remain a major component of institutional and wealth portfolios in Asia.
HSBC sees potential for blockchain infrastructure to improve the efficiency of settlement and servicing for these instruments, while creating a scalable foundation for future product design.
The issuance comes as Hong Kong continues to develop its regulatory framework for digital assets and tokenisation in financial markets.
“Issuance of structured notes in a digitally native format with HSBC marks a meaningful step towards enabling institutional investors to manage more of their portfolios on-chain,”
said Rehan Ahmed, CEO at Marketnode.
Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Hong Kong, based on image by freepik via Magnific