Tokenised green bonds issued

The Government today announced the successful offering of $800 million worth of tokenised green bonds under the Government Green Bond Programme, which is the first such bond issued by a government globally.

The bond was priced at 4.05% with a tenor of one year. It was distributed by four banks and cleared and settled through the Monetary Authority's Central Moneymarkets Unit.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan said Hong Kong has been proactively promoting the application of innovative technologies in the financial field. It is also actively exploring new concepts and technologies to enhance the efficiency, transparency and security of financial transactions.

“Our policy statement on the development of virtual assets in Hong Kong issued in October last year sets out that we actively embrace financial innovations related to Web3 and promote steady and prudent market development.

“The successful issuance of this tokenised green bond marks an important milestone as it demonstrates Hong Kong's strengths in combining bond market, green and sustainable finance as well as fintech.

“The Government will continue to promote the innovative development of the financial market.”

Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury Christopher Hui also pointed out that green bond tokenisation is one of the pilot projects announced in the policy statement.

He said the Government will work towards providing a facilitating environment by having a clear policy stance and roadmap in order to promote sustainable and responsible development of the virtual assets sector.

The Monetary Authority will issue a whitepaper in due course to summarise the experience of issuing the bond.