Hg Exchange seeks to launch Southeast Asia’s first member-driven exchange to support the issuance and trading of private company shares, including security tokens.
The exchange represents a collaborative industry effort between established capital markets intermediaries and emerging innovators from the fintech sector. It has signed a memorandum of intent with Phillip Securities, PrimePartners, RHT Capital and Fundnel, which thereafter will become the first four members of the exchange, according to a media release on Thursday.
Singapore-based Hg Exchange has submitted a FinTech Regulatory Sandbox application to the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). The industry-backed effort promotes transparency by sharing transaction data amongst market makers and private companies, creating efficiencies for the general market.
Unparalled Access for Investors
For investors, this brings unparalleled access to invest into high-growth companies such as Airbnb, Deliveroo, Didi Chuxing, GoJek, Grab, Pinterest, SpaceX and Uber. Hg Exchange solves the perennial problem many shareholders of private companies face by presenting a single destination to help monetise their stake.
Kelvin Lee, co-founder and CEO of Fundnel, believes that private exchanges such as Hg Exchange is a crucial step towards invigoration of the local investment scene, attracting global companies and financial talent into the region.
Cutting-Edge Technology
Powered by MaiCoin and Zilliqa, Hg Exchange will bring together cutting-edge technology and far-reaching solutions, with the blockchain layer enabling ease of trading and settlement, and the potential to verifiably secure stored assets.
With its mainnet launch imminent, Zilliqa employs sharding as an on-chain solution to preserve decentralization and enable scalability. Its proprietary smart contract language is amenable to formal verification, thus providing enhanced security for assets.
Longest Running Digital Asset Platform
Taiwan’s largest and longest running digital asset platform, MaiCoin will be responsible for building the exchange functions from the matching engine to the order book. With a reputation as one of the most secure exchanges, MaiCoin will provide a secure and intuitive front end.
Hg Exchange is envisioned to replicate the success of existing private exchanges such as the Nasdaq Private Market, which set a new record in transaction volume in the first half of 2018, which saw deal volume growing by 74 percent and exceeding $10 billion for the first time. Hg Exchange will be accessible only to institutional and accredited investors and will operate on a membership only basis for licensed or registered market participants.