Philippines to Sell Tokenized Treasury Bond Next Week

The Philippines government said it plans to raise 10 billion pesos ($180 million) through the sale of a tokenized treasury bond next week, in the latest move by a government to embrace blockchain technology to digitize its domestic debt market.

The planned sale follows an offering from Hong Kong, which issued an 800 million-Hong Kong dollar ($103 million) tokenized green bond in February. The central bank subsequently described in August how tokenization could enhance the efficiency, liquidity and transparency in bond markets.

The Philippines Bureau of the Treasury intends to confirm the interest rate of the one-year bond on Nov. 20, with the issue and settlement date set for Nov. 22. It reserves the right to change the mechanics of the issue, it said in an announcement on Thursday.