Hong Kong Monetary Authority has launched a three-year digital bond grant program that offers incentives of up to HK$2.5 million.
Hong Kong has strengthened its position in the digital financial revolution by launching a new program designed to promote the growth of tokenized bonds in an effort to encourage blockchain usage.
The program’s goal, unveiled in Hong Kong’s 2024 Policy Address, is to strengthen the city’s position as a center for digital securities and hasten the implementation of tokenization in capital market activities.
The HKMA said in a press statement on Nov. 28 that the Digital Bond Grant Scheme will be open for applications for three years and provide issuers who fulfill the new guideline’s eligibility requirements with financial support of up to HK$2.5 million, or about $321,200.
The HKMA’s broader initiatives to encourage blockchain adoption in financial markets include the DBGS.
Project Ensemble, a sandbox for testing tokenized real-world assets, was introduced by the HKMA in August.
Major participants like HSBC and HashKey Group have already utilized the sandbox to test interbank settlements with tokenized deposits and digital bond purchases.
Financial firms looking to increase efficiency in sectors like trade finance, green finance, and fixed income have begun to adopt tokenization, which entails representing assets on a blockchain as digital tokens.
Hong Kong hopes to establish itself as an Asia-Pacific leader in blockchain-enabled financial innovation by supporting such efforts.