FSTB and HKMA to further unlock potential of distributed ledger technology in Hong Kong’s fixed income market

On 29 June 2026, the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB) and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced the completion of the first-phase review on the application of distributed ledger technology (DLT) in Hong Kong’s fixed income market. The review concluded that Hong Kong’s existing legal and regulatory framework is flexible enough to support the issuance and operation of tokenised bonds, as proven by the government’s landmark digital bond issuances and a growing number of tokenised bonds issued by enterprises at home and abroad. To stabilise market expectations, the Companies Registry released official FAQs on the same day, confirming that registers of debenture holders maintained via DLT satisfy statutory record-keeping requirements and resolve compliance concerns for the industry. The two authorities will launch the second-phase review and legislative enhancements in the second half of 2026, focusing on allowing electronic signatures for tokenised bond issuance documents and clarifying rules governing the ownership and transfer of digital bonds. These measures aim to boost issuance efficiency, advance process automation and build a digital-friendly fixed income ecosystem. Aligned with Hong Kong’s Policy Statement 2.0 on the Development of Digital Assets and the policy directions set out in successive annual Budgets, this round of policy improvements leverages Hong Kong’s early-mover advantages in tokenised bonds to scale up the adoption of DLT and digital assets in fixed income markets. It will further cement Hong Kong’s global leading position in Web3 and financial innovation, and establish a comprehensive, forward-looking regulatory regime to sustain the sound long-term growth of the digital asset sector. Source: https://www.hkma.gov.hk/eng/news-and-media/press-releases/2026/06/20260629-4/ Related Website: http://www.cr.gov.hk/en/faq/local-company/register-debenture-holders.htm