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On June 12, Bank of China investment subsidiary BOCI announced the issuance of 200 million Chinese Yuan ($28 million) digital structured banknotes minted on the Ethereum blockchain. The move makes BOCI the first Chinese financial institution to issue a tokenized security in Hong Kong. Investment banking company UBS helped create a product to accommodate its client in the Asia-Pacific region. Ying Wang, Deputy General Manager of BOCI, commented:
“Working alongside UBS, we are committed to simplifying digital asset markets and products for clients in the Asia Pacific region by developing blockchain-based digital structured products designed specifically for clients in the Asia Pacific region.”
Concurrent with development, UBS is expanding its tokenization into structured products, fixed income instruments, and repo financing. In December 2022, the firm issued a $50 million fixed-rate tokenized banknote under English and Swiss law, digitized on a permissioned blockchain.
Cointelegraph previously reported that Hong Kong opened access to the cryptocurrency exchange for retail users from June 1. About two weeks later, Joseph Chang Holim, Vice Minister for Financial Services and Treasury of the Hong Kong Government, stated that the Special Administrative Region is “actively involved” in the blockchain industry and aims to establish a framework for stablecoin regulation within one year.
On February 16, Hong Kong issued HK$800 million green bonds tokenized under the Goldman Sachs GS DAP tokenization protocol with an annual yield of 4.05%. In December 2022, Hong Kong introduced two exchange-traded funds for cryptocurrency futures, raising over $70 million prior to their launch.