HKSAR Government’s Inaugural Tokenised Green Bond Offering

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority, HKMA, has published a press statement to announce the successful first ever issuance of a tokenized green bond globally worth HK$800 million „under the Government Green Bond Programme (GGBP)“. The one year bonds, denominated in HK$, were issued on February 15, 2023 with a settlement date of February 16, 2023 (t+1). They have a coupon rate of 4.05% and the proceeds will be used on qualified ESG-projects under the GGBP whose eligibility is clarified ahead of any investments.
According to the press statement, „the Central Moneymarkets Unit (CMU) of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) is the clearing and settlement system for the bond, leveraging Goldman Sachs’ tokenisation platform – GS DAPTM“. Any subsequent interest payments and the redemption at maturity will be facilitated in digital form via a private blockchain network. Custodians are two banks also involved in the original distribution.
The key terms of the bonds may be found in the enclosed press statement.