International law firm Simmons & Simmons announced today that it has assisted OSL Digital Securities (OSL DS) on becoming the first Type 1 Securities and Futures Commission (SFC)-licensed broker to distribute security tokens to professional investors in a private security token offering (STO) in July.
Jay Lee, a partner based in Simmons’ Hong Kong office commented: “This innovative STO transaction is the first of its kind, with an SFC-licensed broker utilising blockchain smart contract technologies for a debt capital market product in Hong Kong seen as a milestone in the development of Hong Kong’s digital asset and digital capital markets industry. We are very thankful to have been involved in assisting with this transaction, a milestone in the development of Hong Kong’s digital asset capital markets industry."
The STO demonstrates an innovative ‘proof-of-concept’ for investing in regulated digital assets and has the potential to create a new market for the issuance and distribution of tokenised securities through licensed intermediaries in Hong Kong.
Jason Valoti, a partner in Simmons’ financial markets group in Singapore added: “We are delighted to have had the opportunity to contribute our legal and financial expertise in assisting OSL with this STO transaction. The successful transaction is a step forward in modernising traditional financial services, given the great potential STOs have in developing new markets and distribution channels. We have always been at the forefront of development of the digital asset industry, and will continue to work with these types of projects going forward.”