The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has issued its fourth batch of digital green bonds, setting a new record as the world’s largest digital bond offering.

The SAR government said on Tuesday about HK$20 billion ($2.6 billion) worth of digital green bonds denominated in Hong Kong dollars, renminbi, the greenback and the euro have been issued under its sustainable bond program, with subscription ratios across four currencies reaching 1.3 to 11.3 times.

The bonds consist of the two-year Hong Kong dollar 5.5-billion tranche with the coupon rate, or annual interest rate, set at 3.8 percent; the RMB 7.5 billion, five-year tranche at 1.65 percent, the USD 200 million, three-year tranche at 5.023 percent, and the EUR 450 million, four-year tranche at 3.734 percent.

“Denominated in multiple currencies, these bonds cater to the asset diversification needs of both local and overseas investors, and have incorporated a range of innovative technologies to further advance innovation in the bond market,” Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said.

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The latest issuance represents the world’s first digital bond that integrates tokenized deposits in Hong Kong dollars, with tokenized deposits empowered by EnsembleTX incorporated into the primary issuance settlement process for the Hong Kong dollar-tranche.

Chan said the government will continue to issue tokenized bonds on a regular basis, expand the use-cases for the underlying technologies, and harness financial technology to empower the bond market’s continued development.

The digital bond offering also adopts the International Capital Market Association’s latest Bond Data Taxonomy Version 2.0, promoting greater data consistency, interoperability and end-to-end automation across the bond lifecycle.

“This issuance will further enhance society’s understanding of the integration of sustainable development and fintech, while strengthening Hong Kong’s position as a leading global green and sustainable finance hub,” Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui Ching-yu said.

Eddie Yue Man-wai – chief executive officer of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority -- said the latest issuance reinforces the HKSAR government’s commitment to stay ahead in the digital finance space, continue to unlock new synergies across digital infrastructures, and deepen the city’s digital asset ecosystem.