HKSAR Government
The HKSAR Government issued a HK$800 million one-year tokenised green bond, settled through the HKMA's Central Moneymarkets Unit on a private blockchain, and said it would conduct further tokenised issuances.
- Status
- Live
- Announced
- (announcement)
- Stage
- Production (was Pilot)
- Chain or network
- GS DAP (private), then HSBC Orion (private)
- Participants
- Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Bank of China (Hong Kong), Crédit Agricole CIB
- Next review
Scorecard
As of the review on . Changes since the previous review are marked. How pilots are scored
| Ledger | Private ledger |
|---|---|
| Settlement | CBDC on the ledger |
| Access | Whitelisted institutions or investors |
| Legal standing | Token is the legal record |
| Scale | Repeat |
What they said they would do
- MetThe HKMA will issue a whitepaper in due course to summarise the experience of this issuance and set out a blueprint for tokenised bond issuance in Hong Kong.
- MetThe HKMA and the Government will work with other stakeholders to conduct further tokenised issuances.
- OpenCoupon payment, settlement of secondary trading and maturity redemption will be digitalised and performed on the private blockchain network.
Decisions
Pivoted
The second issuance moved from Goldman Sachs' GS DAP to HSBC Orion as the digital assets platform, with the CMU still the clearing and settlement system.
Source: hkma.gov.hk
Expanded
About HK$6 billion of two-year digital green bonds in HKD, RMB, USD and EUR, issued in digitally native form, with investor access through Euroclear and Clearstream.
Source: hkma.gov.hk
Expanded
About HK$10 billion of digital green bonds in four currencies with tenors up to five years, and an option to settle the HKD and RMB tranches in tokenised central bank money (e-HKD and e-CNY).
Source: hkma.gov.hk
Expanded
About HK$20 billion of digital green bonds in four currencies with tenors of two to five years. The HKD tranche could also settle in tokenised deposits through the HKMA's EnsembleTX, alongside traditional rails and tokenised central bank money.
Source: hkma.gov.hk
Graduated
The Financial Secretary said the Government will continue to issue tokenised bonds on a regular basis, making the programme a standing one with no stated end date.
Source: hkma.gov.hk
Review history
Live Pilot
The HKMA published its report on the issuance, meeting the whitepaper claim. It said DLT had been used for primary issuance, secondary settlement and coupon payment, and that maturity redemption was still to be tested.
Evidence: hkma.gov.hk
Live Pilot
Second issuance, about HK$6 billion in four currencies on HSBC Orion. The platform change is recorded as a pivot. The release does not describe an on-ledger cash leg, so settlement moves to offchain, and scale moves to repeat.
Evidence: hkma.gov.hk
Live Pilot
Third issuance, about HK$10 billion, again on HSBC Orion. The HKD and RMB tranches could settle in e-HKD and e-CNY, so settlement returns to cbdc, although traditional rails remained available.
Evidence: hkma.gov.hk
Live Production
Fourth issuance, about HK$20 billion on HSBC Orion, with tokenised deposits through EnsembleTX added as a settlement option for the HKD tranche. With a fourth issue and the Government's statement that tokenised bonds will be issued on a regular basis, stage moves to production. Settlement stays cbdc because the e-HKD option remains; the HKMA has not said how much settled in tokenised deposits.
Evidence: hkma.gov.hk, policyaddress.gov.hk
What was announced
On 16 February 2023 the HKSAR Government announced a HK$800 million one-year tokenised green bond under the Government Green Bond Programme, priced at 4.05% and distributed by a four-bank syndicate. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) acted for the Government. The HKMA said it would publish a whitepaper on the experience and that it would work with others on further tokenised issuances.
How it works
The Central Moneymarkets Unit (CMU) is the clearing and settlement system. In 2023 it used Goldman Sachs’ GS DAP platform on a private blockchain. Primary issuance settled delivery-versus-payment at T+1 between securities tokens and cash tokens representing a claim on the HKMA for Hong Kong dollars, which is why the first review records settlement as cbdc. The release states that on-chain records are the legally definitive record of ownership for parties on the platform, so legal is native. Only platform participants and custodians hold the tokens, so access is whitelisted.
From 2024 the platform is HSBC Orion, still private, with bonds issued in digitally native form and reachable through Euroclear and Clearstream.
Record so far
The HKMA published “Bond Tokenisation in Hong Kong” on 24 August 2023, meeting the first claim. It said maturity redemption would still be tested; no source found in this search confirms that it was, so that claim stays open.
The second issuance on 7 February 2024 raised about HK$6 billion across HKD, RMB, USD and EUR, meeting the claim of further issuances. The move from GS DAP to HSBC Orion is a pivot between two private platforms.
The third, priced on 10 November 2025, raised about HK$10 billion with tenors up to five years and more than HK$130 billion of orders, according to the HKMA. It added an option to settle HKD and RMB tranches in e-HKD and e-CNY.
The HKMA set up a Tokenised Bond Expert Group on 5 June 2026, and the 2026 Policy Address commits to regularising digital bond issuance and to using digital currencies for settlement.
The fourth, priced on 28 September 2026, raised about HK$20 billion in HKD, RMB, USD and EUR, with subscription of 1.3 to 11.3 times across the currencies, according to the HKMA. Investors in the HKD tranche could settle in tokenised deposits through EnsembleTX, alongside traditional rails and tokenised central bank money; the HKMA calls it the first digital bond to integrate tokenised HKD deposits. The Financial Secretary said the Government will continue to issue tokenised bonds on a regular basis, which is the basis for the move to production. The HKMA has not published how much of the HKD tranche settled in tokenised deposits, or whether maturity redemption will run on the platform.
What to watch
A published issuance calendar, and settlement shares for each option, would show how far the programme has moved from showcase to routine funding. The Policy Address also says CMU OmniClear will set up a digital asset platform this year, which could replace HSBC Orion as the platform and would be a further pivot.