India to launch first tokenized corporate bonds using digital rupee

India has set plans to launch its first tokenized corporate bonds next month through an REC issue of less than 5 billion rupees ($57 million), with the digital rupee set to settle transactions on blockchain-based infrastructure. Summary India will launch its first tokenized corporate bonds next month through state owned REC. The offering will be worth less than 5 billion rupees, or about $57 million. Investors will use wholesale digital rupee and DEMAT 2.0 wallets to complete transactions. The bonds will have a three month lock in, with secondary trading expected by December. Reuters reported on Aug. 25, citing three people with direct knowledge of the matter, that state-owned power financier REC will issue the bonds as part of a pilot being developed with the Reserve Bank of India and the Securities and Exchange Board of India. The planned issuance will test whether distributed ledger technology can shorten the process of issuing, recording and settling corporate debt. Ownership and transaction records will be maintained digitally, allowing settlement to take place almost immediately once the required assets move between participants. One person familiar with the plans told Reuter...