Doha Bank has completed the issuance of $150 million in digital bonds, one of Qatar’s first digital dollar bond issues.
The floating rate notes were listed on the London Stock Exchange’s International Securities Market with T+0 (instant) settlement via Euroclear’s Digital Financial Market Infrastructure (D-FMI).
Despite a strict ban on retail trading of cryptocurrencies, the Middle Eastern state is moving towards tokenization of assets.
The bonds were issued as digital bonds (Digitally Native Notes), meaning that the entire life cycle of the security, from issuance to settlement, took place digitally.
Euroclear’s D-FMI technology uses a distributed ledger for issuance, distribution and settlement that is fully compliant with regulatory standards.
Standard Chartered acted as global coordinator and sole arranger. Financial giant Citi acted as issuance and disbursement agent.
Standard Chartered’s global head of capital markets, Salman Ansari, noted that the bond issue demonstrates how tokenization can improve efficiency without replacing traditional capital market structures.