Busan City Aims to Cultivate Growth in Blockchain and Fintech Industries

More Players Join NH Bank-Led Security Token Consortium in South KoreaMultiple South Korean banks and fractional investment firms are now joining the security token consortium led by NongHyup Bank (NH Bank), according to a report from local news outlet Etoday today.Expanding consortiumNH Bank announced today that the Industrial Bank of Korea, Shinhan Bank, and Woori Bank, along with fractional investment companies, will be participating in the banking sector’s security token consortium. This consortium was established in April and initially comprised NH Bank, Suhyup Bank, Jeonbuk Bank, and six fractional investment companies.The objective of the banking sector’s involvement in the consortium is to contribute to the security token industry by developing distributed ledger technology infrastructure, conducting research to promote security tokens, and strengthening investor protection.The consortium participants will engage in further discussions on how banks can participate in the security token market while adhering to evolving legislation related to security tokens. Additionally, they will explore methods to establish the necessary platforms required by fractional investment companies to issue security tokens.Photo by Mathieu Stern on UnsplashSecurity tokens as corporate bondsIn the long term, the group plans to issue security tokens as corporate bonds, taking inspiration from German tech company Siemens’ strategy, or create a secondary market for security tokens to promote the overall security token ecosystem. Earlier this year, Siemens issued a blockchain-based one-year bond worth 60 million euros ($64.9 million).The consortium’s new fractional investment firms include fractional real estate investment platform Funble, artificial intelligence entertainment firm Blade Ent, blockchain tech firm Trackchain, online bookstore Yes24’s fractional artwork ownership platform ARTiPIO, and electric vehicle (EV) charging sharing platform Charzin.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), the Chinese autonomous territory’s central bank, has launched a scheme which subsidizes projects endeavoring to issue tokenized bonds. Grants of up to $321KThe objective behind the initiative, which was announced in a statement published to the HKMA website on Nov. 28, is to nurture moves towards tokenization within Hong Kong’s capital markets. The initiative, titled the Digital Bond Grant Scheme (DBGS), can be accessed by financial services firms for up to two digital bond issuances. The grant may cover up to 50% of what the HKMA describes as “Eligible Expenses” incurred in the process of issuing and establishing the digital bond. A maximum grant level of HK$2.5 million ($321,000) has been established. Digital bond issuers are entitled to the full grant where both basic requirements and additional requirements have been met. A half grant of up to HK$1.25 million ($160,600) has been established for those issuers who have met the basic requirements. The scheme has been opened to applicants from Nov. 28 onwards, with it having been set out to run for an initial period of three years. To fulfill the basic requirements, a bond must be issued in Hong Kong and either be issued on a decentralized ledger technology (DLT) platform, or the project itself must be based in Hong Kong while being involved in the running of a DLT platform.Photo by Fidel Fernando on UnsplashAdditional requirementsThe HKMA has listed four items under additional requirements. These include a need for a digital bond to be issued on a DLT platform run by an entity that is not an associate of the issuer. The bond issuance, whether effected in one instance or in tranches, must account for a value of greater than HK$1 billion ($128.5 million).  The bond must be issued to greater than five investors who are not connected with or associates of the issuer. Finally, the bond must be issued on either the Hong Kong Stock Exchange or a virtual asset trading platform (VATP) licensed and regulated by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC). Project EvergreenIn 2021, the HKMA launched Project Evergreen, an initiative geared towards exploring how DLT could enhance processes and efficiency within capital markets. On Nov. 28 the HKMA published an update on the project, outlining that since its foundation, tokenization had gained considerable momentum, with $10 billion in tokenized bonds having been issued globally within the last decade. The Hong Kong government carried out two tokenized bond issuances as part of the project. Due to the second issuance being seven times larger than the first one, the HKMA believes that this accounted for institutional investors being attracted to the bond issuance.  In the update, the HKMA outlined that going forward, the plan is to promote wider adoption of what is viable, within the confines of what is possible. The central bank asserted that the DBGS was established on this basis. The update stated: "To fully reap the potential of DLT, we need to keep pushing the boundaries and explore further innovation." In a related development, a report published by the Financial Times on Nov. 28 suggests that the Hong Kong government is considering offering crypto tax breaks to hedge funds and private equity funds.

Fobl Partners with KDAC to Store Part of Customers’ Assets in CustodyKorean non-fiat cryptocurrency trading platform Fobl announced on Tuesday that it has teamed up with Korea Digital Asset Custody (KDAC) to provide enhanced customer protection.©Pexels/Savvas StavrinosKDAC, backed by Shinhan Bank, has been providing virtual asset custody services to businesses seeking safe asset management.Collaboration plans between Fobl and KDACWith the partnership, the two sides will store a portion of Fobl customers’ assets in custody, build a systematic process for custody of projects’ virtual assets and their pre-disclosures, and seek out new business opportunities in the Korean security token market.Fobl’s potential transformation to fiat exchangePreviously, it was reported that Fobl is set to face a comprehensive inspection next week from the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) under the Korean Financial Services Commission (FSC).This move from the FIU suggests that Fobl may soon become a fiat crypto exchange in the near future, as the financial regulator has announced that it will first inspect non-fiat exchanges that are preparing to allow fiat trading.