SGX-backed iSTOX to set up digital securities exchange in Chongqing

Kelly Ng

Published Mon, Nov 23, 2020 · 07:54 AM

SINGAPORE Exchange-backed security token platform iSTOX signed a strategic agreement with the Chongqing Monetary Authority on Monday, paving the way for the setting up of an iSTOX digital securities exchange in Chongqing.

The memorandum of understanding, inked as part of the third China-Singapore Financial Summit, outlines steps towards the building of a Chongqing-Singapore financial hub which includes the exchange.

The pact recognises that the new digital securities exchange will bring innovative products and attract technology companies to the southwestern megacity by providing an international platform for raising funds, iSTOX said in a press statement on Monday.

iSTOX graduated from the Monetary Authority of Singapore's fintech regulatory sandbox in February this year and is now a regulated provider of issuance, custody, and secondary trading of digitised securities.

The proposed Chongqing-Singapore financial hub also includes a potential tie-up between iSTOX and two state-owned companies under the municipal government, namely Chongqing Development Investment Co Ltd, which invests in strategic infrastructure and development projects, and Chongqing Share Transfer Centre, formed to develop the city's private capital market.

Noting that China is the world's fastest-growing private capital market, iSTOX co-founder and chief operating officer Darius Liu said: "Together with our Chongqing partners, iSTOX can provide Chinese companies access to international capital by issuing digital securities to fund their expansion... Chinese investors can also gain access to high-quality global investments and a chance to diversify their investments geographically."