Hong Kong’s SFC approves first retail tokenised MMF

China Asset Management (Hong Kong) has received approval from Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) to launch a retail tokenised money market fund (MMF) by the end of February.

The fund, named ChinaAMC HKD Digital Money Market Fund, primarily consists of short-term, high-quality debt instruments denominated in Hong Kong dollars.

Once launched, it will become the first retail tokenised MMF in Hong Kong, as well as the first retail tokenised fund across Asia Pacific (Apac).

Standard Chartered serves as the tokenisation agent, digital platform operator and token custodian of the offering. The bank is providing securities services and technology solutions facilitating the fund, fiduciary, fund administration, custodian and cash services.

The fund will be tokenised through Libeara, a tokenisation platform backed by SC Ventures, according to a February 13 media release. Standard Chartered Trustee (Hong Kong) acts as the open-ended fund company custodian.

Tian Gan, chief executive officer (CEO) of ChinaAMC (HK), commented: “By leveraging tokenisation, the fund provides investors with transformative benefits: blockchain-based ownership issuance, and transparent settlement.”

Mary Huen, Standard Chartered CEO of Hong Kong, Greater China and North Asia, said that this development marks another milestone on Hong Kong’s path towards a global digital asset hub.

On-chain HKD yield

The media release underlined that the new tokenised vehicle will provide Apac-based investors a ‘unique’ avenue to earn Hong Kong dollar yields through blockchain. The release added that the fund aims to provide investors with a diversified exposure, in response to the rising demand for innovative investment opportunities in the region.

A spokesperson for ChinaAMC (HK) told FinanceAsia that investors using licensed virtual assets trading platforms (VATPs) in Hong Kong will now have a regulated option to earn HKD yields on-chain.

VATPs, which consist of nine platforms, are screened and regulated by the SFC under a licensing scheme introduced in June 2024.

Other prospects of trading tokenised financial products include a near real-time settlement process and 24/7 trading capabilities.

Established in 2008, ChinaAMC (HK) is a wholly owned subsidiary of China Asset Management, a mainland Chinese asset manager with over $362 million in assets under management, as of the end of 2024.

On April 30, 2024, the asset manager launched its Bitcoin and Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs), after the SFC’s approval of a first batch of spot cryptocurrency ETFs, provided also by Bosera Asset Management and Harvest Global Investments.

In the retail space, HSBC is one of the first institutions to have introduced tokenisation investment tools in Hong Kong, after the bank launched retail gold tokens in March 2024. Each token represents a certain share of ownership of the gold kept with HSBC.

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