New government bond infrastructure launched with blockchain technology
The Bank of Thailand (BOT) has successfully launched a new platform leveraging blockchain technology for government savings bond issuance.
It aims to enhance investors’ buying experience, improve operational efficiency, and reduce overall cost. Fifty billion baht of government savings bonds have been sold out in a week.
According to BOT, the Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) Scripless Bond Project has applied blockchain technology to develop secure and efficient government bond infrastructure. It is a collaborative effort among eight institutions, namely BOT, the Public Debt Management Office, Thailand Securities Depository Co., Ltd, the Thai Bond Market Association, and selling-agent banks, including Bangkok Bank, Krungthai Bank, Kasikorn Bank, and Siam Commercial Bank.
The new infrastructure successfully went live by supporting Government Savings Bonds "One Baht Bond” and "Moving Forward.” The total issuance of 50 billion baht has completely allocated to investors sooner than expected.
Investors would benefit from receiving bonds faster and purchasing bonds up to the individual quota from a single bank. The project would also help service providers to reduce operational complexity and lower the overall cost of bond issuance.
BOT has stated that, in the next phase, the infrastructure will expand to support all different government bonds, both retail and wholesale, in order to fully serve the demand of all stakeholders.
