HKMA establishes Tokenised Bond Expert Group

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (5 June) that it has convened a Tokenised Bond Expert Group, bringing together industry representatives with relevant experience and interest in Hong Kong’s tokenised bond market development, in order to drive further adoption and scalability of tokenised bonds in Hong Kong.

Member institutions of the Expert Group (see Annex) are representatives from industry associations, financial institutions, legal advisory firms, as well as financial infrastructure and technology providers. Building on the progress achieved so far through the HKMA’s various tokenised bond-related initiatives, the Expert Group will collectively explore policy measures, market practices, and innovations.

In May, the HKMA hosted the first series of Expert Group discussions, which views were exchanged on Hong Kong’s current legal and regulatory regime and its application to tokenised bond issuance and transactions.  The feedback received provided reference for the HKMA’s ongoing work with the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau on reviewing and identifying potential enhancements to Hong Kong’s legal and regulatory regime to facilitate the broader adoption of tokenisation technology in the fixed income market.  Details of the relevant exercise will be announced separately.

The HKMA will continue to engage with Expert Group members to deep dive into various topics pertinent to tokenised bond market development, and will review and update the composition of the Expert Group as needed.

About HKMA’s tokenised bond-related initiatives

In 2021, the HKMA embarked on its bond tokenisation journey with a joint proof-of-concept study with the Bank for International Settlements Innovation Hub Hong Kong Centre.  This was followed by the successful execution of three landmark tokenised bond issuances for the HKSAR Government, including the world’s first tokenised government green bond in 2023, the first multi-currency digital bond in 2024, as well as the largest digital bond issuance at the time of issuance and the first digital bond to integrate tokenised central bank money in the form of e-CNY and e-HKD in 2025.

The HKMA has also been promoting tokenised bond market development through measures including encouraging issuances through the Digital Bond Grant Scheme, building capacity through the EvergreenHub knowledge repository, and exploring potential enhancements to Hong Kong’s legal and regulatory regime together with the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau to facilitate the broader adoption of tokenisation technology in the fixed income market.