SGX, in collaboration with HSBC and Temasek, completes pilot digital bond for Olam International
- SGX’s digital asset issuance, depository and servicing platform was used to launch and settle in parallel, the first digital bond issuance for Olam International
- This marks the first step towards wider use of smart contracts and distributed ledger technology (DLT) for the Asian bond market
Singapore Exchange (SGX), working together with HSBC Singapore and Temasek, has
completed its first digital bond issuance on SGX’s digital asset issuance, depository and
servicing platform, successfully replicating a S$400 million 5.5-year public bond issue and a
follow-on S$100 million tap of the same issue by Olam International.
An Asia first for a syndicated public corporate bond, this digital bond marks another milestone in
SGX’s use of digital asset technology, by streamlining processes for issuers, underwriters,
investors and ecosystem participants across primary issuance and asset servicing.
SGX utilised DAML, the smart contract language created by Digital Asset, to model the bond
and its distributed workflows for issuance and asset servicing over the bond’s lifecycle. SGX’s
solution uses smart contracts to capture the rights and obligations of parties involved in
issuance and asset servicing, such as arrangers, depository agents, legal counsel and
custodians.
The digital bond used HSBC’s on-chain payments solution which allows for seamless settlement
in multiple currencies to facilitate transfer of proceeds between the issuer, arranger and investor
custodian.
Key efficiencies observed within the pilot include timely ISIN (identifier) generation, elimination
of settlement risk (for issuer, arranger and investors), reduction in primary issuance settlement
(from 5 days to 2 days) as well as automation of coupon and redemption payments and registrar
functionality. For more information, please visit this webpage.
Building on this digital issuance, SGX will work with issuers, arrangers, custodian banks and
investors to digitalise bond issuance, depository and asset servicing, progressively growing the
fixed income ecosystem.
Lee Beng Hong, Senior Managing Director, Head of Fixed Income, Currencies and Commodities
(FICC), SGX, said, “We are very excited that this collaboration with HSBC and Temasek has led
to the successful completion of the first digital syndicated public corporate bond in Asia. Debt
capital markets globally are characterised by deeply engrained legacy systems and processes
which can be made faster, more accurate and efficient with this new technology. DLT and smart
contracts are rapidly evolving technologies, and our vision is to fully digitalise the end-to-end
corporate bond issuance and asset servicing process. We look forward to playing a part in
strengthening the fixed income market infrastructure of Singapore, Asia’s fixed income hub for
bond issuers.”
David Koh, Head of Global Liquidity and Cash Management, HSBC Singapore, said, “We’re
proud to be working closely with SGX and Temasek to drive faster, more transparent, and fully
secure settlements for bond issuers and investors. This first digital bond issuance for Olam
International shows how our on-chain solution can fulfil payment needs in DLT-based
ecosystems, and demonstrates our desire to shape and participate in the next generation of
asset networks, to better service our securities services clients. We look forward to bringing this
technology to our clients in Singapore and beyond.”
Chia Song Hwee, Deputy Chief Executive Officer at Temasek, added, “Innovative technologies
such as blockchain technology are key enablers that can transform processes and systems to
create game-changing opportunities. We are pleased to have partnered SGX, HSBC and Olam
in this initiative. The successful bond issuance validates the potential for issuances of other
assets and products, and marks an important milestone towards improving financial processes
and workflows.”
N Muthukumar, Managing Director and Group CFO of Olam International, said, “Olam is
delighted to pilot Asia’s first digital bond in close partnership with SGX, Temasek and HSBC.
Going digital will make the entire process more efficient and transparent for all parties – issuers
like us receive our funds more speedily, investors get their bonds more quickly while the
arrangers, custodian and banks benefit from the reduced probability of error and speed. This is
in line with Olam’s focused push into digitalisation as part of our refreshed strategy, to grow
sustainably and live our purpose of re-imagining global agriculture and food systems.”
“The bond market is one of the last bastions of risk, holding on to paper and manual processes,”
said Yuval Rooz, Co-founder and CEO, Digital Asset. “Despite the growth in electronic bond
trading, there are still many aspects that require manual intervention. SGX’s DAML smart
contract solution solves a major pain point market participants have been working to fix for
years. We look forward to our continued work with SGX as they move to digitise the end-to-end
bond issuance process.”
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