Source: Hong Kong Information Services
The Government today announced the successful offering of around HK$10 billion worth of digital green bonds denominated in HK dollars (HKD), renminbi (RMB), US dollars and euro under its Sustainable Bond Programme.
The latest issuance has introduced innovative features and achieved breakthroughs in areas such as the integration of digital money in the settlement process.
For both the HKD and RMB tranches, the option to settle via tokenised central bank money was introduced alongside traditional settlement rails in the primary issuance process, which helped further reduce settlement time, costs and counterparty credit risk.
This also marks the first digital bond offering in the world that integrates tokenised central bank money in the form of e-CNY and e-HKD in the settlement process.
Financial Secretary Paul Chan said the third digital green bond issuance attracted overwhelming subscription, with the issuance amount reaching a new high of HK$10 billion, reflecting the market support for tokenised products.
“A number of innovative features have also been introduced to further promote fintech empowerment in the development of bond market as well as green and sustainable finance market.
“The Government will regularise the issuance of tokenised bond, support the establishment of comprehensive benchmarks, and promote innovative products and services for a wider application of digital finance.”
Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury Christopher Hui supplemented that riding on Hong Kong’s established strengths in financial services, this issuance will further consolidate the city’s status as a leading green and sustainable finance hub.