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HONG KONG LAUNCHES DIGITAL BOND ISSUANCE GRANTS

Last month the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) said it was planning to launch a grant program that would offer up to HK$2.5 million (US$ 321,000) in grants to digital bond issuers. Yesterday it announced that the program has started and will run for three years.

We believe the grant scheme also covers tokenized bonds, which are bonds issued conventionally and then a digital twin is created on a blockchain. Digital bonds often refer only to bonds issued natively on a blockchain.

The HKMA is using the digital bond term more expansively. “‘Digital bond’ refers to a bond that leverages distributed ledger technology (DLT) for digital representation of ownership, which could include, for example, legal titles and/or beneficial interests in the bond,” the HKMA wrote.

Digital bond grant criteria
The subsidy will cover up to half the expenses of each digital bond issuance, with a maximum of two issuances.

Half of the subsidy is available if most of the lead managers are based in Hong Kong and the team developing or maintaining the DLT platform has a substantial presence in Hong Kong.

Alternatively, instead of a local developer team, the issuance will qualify if it uses a DLT infrastructure where Hong Kong’s central securities depository, the CMU, is designated as the platform operator.

 For Hong Kong’s sovereign digital bond issuance earlier this year, the CMU was the operator of the local HSBC Orion DLT platform. We believe this means other platforms can also request this designation.

In order to qualify for the full subsidy there are four additional requirements:

▪️the issuer is not associated with the DLT platform

▪️the bond is at least HK$1 billion (US$128.5m)

▪️there are five or more investors not associated with the issuer or DLT platform

▪️the issuance is listed on the stock exchange or by a regulated virtual asset trading platform (VATP).

With the exception of sovereign or semi sovereign bonds, many recent bond issuances globally would not meet these criteria. For example, HSBC recently issued a Hong Kong digital bond on the HSBC Orion DLT. That would only qualify for half the grant because it would fail the platform test.

There are some easy workarounds to the DLT platform criterion. For example, one bank could issue a bond on a second bank’s platform, and then the second bank could issue a bond on the first banks’s platform.

@ Newshounds News™

Source:  Ledger Insights

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SOUTH KOREA DELAYS CRYPTO TAX AGAIN: WHAT IT MEANS FOR INVESTORS IN 2024

▪️South Korea delays crypto tax to 2027, marking a significant policy shift after prolonged debates and investor criticism.

▪️Crypto trading in South Korea thrives as daily volumes hit 6 trillion won, reflecting growing investor interest despite tax uncertainty.

In a latest development, the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) agreed on Sunday to delay the controversial crypto tax for two years following investor backlash.

The latest move pushes the tax’s implementation to 2027, marking a significant shift in the country’s stance on digital asset taxation, allowing the market additional time to adapt.

“After extensive discussions, we concluded that additional institutional arrangements are necessary for the virtual asset taxation,” DPK floor leader Rep. Park Chan-dae said during the press meeting at the National Assembly. “We have agreed to defer taxation for two years.”

Park also noted that the decision was made after a ‘prolonged deliberation, debate, and political judgment.’

This decision comes after months of disagreement between the ruling PPP and the KDP. While the PPP supported a three-year grace period, the KDP had previously pushed for implementing the tax in 2025 and had accused the ruling party of using delays as a political strategy regarding South Korea crypto tax policies.

South Korea’s Journey In Crypto Taxes

South Korea’s journey toward taxing cryptocurrency gains began in 2021 when the government proposed a 20% tax on digital asset profits exceeding $1,800 annually. However, criticisms from investors and industry stakeholders led to repeated delays. Notably, the South Korea crypto tax’s implementation was initially pushed to 2023, then to 2025, and now to 2027.

The current tax framework charges taxes on gains exceeding 2.5 million won, whereas stock trading profits are taxed only above 50 million won, a disparity that has been heavily criticised.

Government’s Plans To Impose Crypto Taxes

Beginning next year, the government had planned to impose a 22 percent tax, including local taxes, on annual income exceeding 2.5 million won ($1,790) from virtual asset investments. Although the policy had already been postponed twice, the DPK initially intended to implement the taxation plan by raising the tax exemption threshold to 50 million won.

However, the widespread criticism from the increasing number of crypto investors and opposition from the ruling People Power Party (PPP) led the party to agree to a further postponement.

South Korea Remains Key Player In Global Market

South Korea remains a key player in the global crypto market. Notably, the decision to delay taxation of the South Korea crypto tax reflects the government’s cautious approach to balance regulation with market growth.

Notably, in the first half of 2024, the country’s daily crypto trading volume soared 67% from the previous period to six trillion won. Local media source Naver also reported that the number of domestic investors increased by 21%, reaching 7.78 million, with Bitcoin and Ethereum comprising the majority of holdings.

@ Newshounds News™

Source: CoinPedia 

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@ Newshounds News™

Source:  Seeds of Wisdom Team RV Currency Facts

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