Fusang Corp., a Malaysia-based digital securities exchange, announced today that it has obtained regulatory approval for an initial public offering (IPO) of its equity tokens.
The tokens — representing Fusang’s shares in digital form, recorded on a blockchain rather than in a traditional share register — will be listed on the company’s own Fusang Exchange by the end of the first quarter, Fusang CEO Henry Chong told Forkast in an interview. While other companies have issued security token offerings in the past, Fusang’s will be the world’s first IPO of equity tokens that are fully regulated, according to Chong.
The 2.5 million shares will be offered at a fixed price of US$4 apiece, for a total initial public offering of US$10 million.
Security token offerings — which involve the issuance of digital tokens in the form of regulated securities using blockchain technology — have increasingly become available as more traditional financial institutions look to tap into the cryptocurrency ecosystem. For example, in June, Singapore-based DBS Bank issued its first security token offering — a S$15 million (US$11 million) digital bond — on its DBS digital exchange.
While the securities offered at the Fusang IPO seem very different from a traditional paper-based offering, Chong said the process would be similar.
“By being able to bring us through a very traditional-looking IPO process — where we do all the same regulatory filings and we really follow all the same steps as any company going public on any traditional stock exchange but in digital format… I think this is the path forward for our industry,” Chong said, adding that the company will release its prospectus soon.
But there are also distinct differences between Fusang’s equity-token IPO and a traditional one.
“This is not a token that is mapped to an offline paper share somewhere,” Chong said. “This isn’t a derivative or something like that. These tokens really are the share certificates, and we honestly believe that this is the future of the security token market.”
By raising money through an unconventional IPO and offering tokens issued on the Ethereum blockchain, Fusang hopes it will be easier for investors to participate, no matter where they are.
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“We can enable, for the first time, global investors to come direct to Fusang Exchange as a platform, without having to go through any other brokers or intermediaries,” Chong said, adding that investors can simply register at the company’s exchange, go through the know-your-customer and anti-money laundering process, and subscribe to the shares in fiat or cryptocurrencies.
Chong said the Fusang IPO could prove that it is possible to bring real-world securities through an end-to-end IPO process but in token form.
“The securities and capital markets world and the token and crypto world are two very different universes,” Chong said, adding that Fusang hopes this IPO could blend the best of the two worlds. “We wanted to run this as an open offering where there’s no distinction between institutional or individual investors.”
