The move lays the foundation for a broader class of tokenised assets, says ADX CEO
The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), the second-largest exchange in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), will list the first-ever distributed ledger technology (DLT)-based bond in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
The bond is issued by First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) using HSBC Orion, a digital assets platform and will be listed on ADX.
HSBC Orion is operated by the Central Moneymarkets Unit (CMU) in Hong Kong, which is supported by top international law firms, ADX said in a statement.
Global investors can access the digital bond through accounts held with CMU, Euroclear and Clearstream, onboarding onto HSBC Orion or via their existing custodian who can participate through one of the above options.
Digital bonds, fixed-income securities issued and recorded on the blockchain, offer operational efficiencies, improved settlement cycles, reduced counterparty risk, enhanced security, and increased transparency for institutional investors.
HSBC acted as the sole global coordinator, lead manager and bookrunner on the transaction.
Abdulla Salem Alnuaimi, Group Chief Executive Officer of ADX, said the initiative not only expands access to institutional-grade digital instruments, but lays the foundation for a broader class of tokenised assets, including green bonds, sukuk, and real estate-linked products.
(Editing by Seban Scaria [email protected] )
