Financial conglomerate SBI Holdings and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMFG) will launch a digital securities exchange based on blockchain technology. It will begin work in the spring of 2022 in the Japanese city of Osaka, according to Nikkei Asia.
Osaka Digital Exchange will be the operator of the new site, 60% of which will be owned by SBI. The remaining 40% will go to SMFG.
The platform will be based on its trading system and an electronic platform. The latter will allow transactions to be carried out outside of a regular public exchange.
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Digital securities trading will begin in 2023. SBI said that the form of security tokens will facilitate investment in non-traditional assets such as real estate, as well as distribution rights for art and films.
According to representatives of SMFG, a subsidiary brokerage company Nikko Securities will redirect part of client orders to the platform.
The creation of a blockchain exchange is part of an initiative to transform Osaka into a regional financial center that can compete on equal terms with Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Singapore.