The world’s first offshore yuan-denominated tokenised public bond was issued in Hong Kong on Monday, in a deal seen as a milestone in the city’s ambition to become a digital finance hub.

GF Securities (Hong Kong) Brokerage raised 500 million yuan (US$70 million) on behalf of Shenzhen Futian Investment Holdings, with the two-year bond carrying a 2.62 per cent coupon and an A- rating from Fitch.

The deal, executed on the Ethereum blockchain, has been listed on both the Shenzhen and Macau exchanges – the first time a tokenised security based on a public blockchain has been admitted to traditional bourses.

Until now, most tokenised bonds in Hong Kong have been sold through private placements. By structuring it as a public offering, the issuance opens access to a wider pool of investors and provides a blueprint for integrating blockchain infrastructure into regulated capital markets.

NVT, a Hong Kong start-up that provided the end-to-end technology for the issuance.