Singaporean financial technology provider Hashstacs has partnered with Bursa Malaysia on a blockchain project for the Labuan bonds marketplace. Dubbed Project Harbour, the partnership will centre on the use of distributed ledger technology as a register to facilitate the growth of Malaysia’s offshore market, Labuan, in collaboration with the Labuan Financial Exchange (LFX), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bursa Malaysia.

Bursa Malaysia, alongside the Securities Commission of Malaysia, Labuan Financial Services Authority, CIMB Investment Bank, Maybank Investment Bank and China Construction Bank (Labuan branch), will use Hashstacs’ Trident Platform to issue, service, trade and clear bonds.

“The creation of an industry-wide ecosystem will allow for a complete solution in origination, servicing, trading, clearing and settlement, allowing Malaysia to potentially have the first mover advantage in attracting regional and international bond listings,” says Hashstacs managing director Benjamin Soh in a statement.

By harnessing the power of blockchain and tokenization of assets, Project Harbour will provide a single source of information that is kept in a shared distributed database between Bursa Malaysia and participating banks, providing a registry of ownership and reducing counterparty risks and reconciliation costs, Hashtacs says.

Says Bursa Malaysia CEO Datuk Muhamad Umar Swift: “The exchange closely follows current trends in innovation and new technologies with a view to remaining relevant in this competitive landscape. One of the ways to achieve this is through collaborations with innovative companies.”