The UnionBank of the Philippines and Standard Chartered (StanChart) have created a proof of concept required in the issuance of a blockchain-powered retail bond. The blockchain platform intended for bond tokenization was co-developed by SC Ventures, StanChart’s innovation and ventures arm, and UnionBank.
Bond tokenization
The tokenized retail bond worth $187 million (9 billion pesos) was mirrored on the blockchain platform and involved a three and 5.25-year dual issuance. According to the announcement:
“Orders received were tokenized and stayed within existing retail bond guidelines. The tokens issued mirrored the traditional transaction but were not allocated directly to investors.”
Ephyro Luis Amatong, a commissioner at the Philippines’ Securities and Exchange Commission, noted that the result could be instrumental in measuring the effectiveness and efficiency of tokenization and the distributed ledger technology (DLT).
Addressing the needs of retail investors