Citi played a key role in the issuance of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)’s first digitally native note (DNN), serving as both the dealer and the issuing and paying agent. This issuance, conducted on Euroclear’s Digital Financial Market Infrastructure (D-FMI), marks the first USD digital issuance on the platform and the first by an Asia-based issuer. BMO Capital Markets also participated as a dealer.
The digitally native note, which holds a triple-A rating from Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s, and Fitch Ratings, successfully raised $300 million to support AIIB’s sustainable development bond program. The issuance was executed through Euroclear’s Digital Securities Issuance (D-SI) service, utilizing distributed ledger technology (DLT) for the issuance, distribution, and settlement of fully digital international securities. The note is listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange, with clearing available through the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s Central Moneymarkets Unit (CMU) and SIX Swiss Exchange (SIX).
This issuance underscores Euroclear’s capability to support market adoption of digital assets through its digital securities issuance service. Euroclear has integrated the D-FMI platform with its traditional settlement system to provide investors with liquidity tools and access to trading venues while ensuring compliance with the Central Securities Depository Regulation (CSDR). Euroclear’s D-SI service, launched in 2023, has already received the Market Infrastructure Project of the Year award from Global Custodian magazine.
Philippe Laurensy, Managing Director and Head of Product, Strategy and Innovation at Euroclear, highlighted the importance of this issuance in Euroclear’s digital transformation journey. He emphasized Euroclear’s commitment to innovation and its role in offering technology solutions that attract issuers and investors worldwide.
AIIB Treasurer Domenico Nardelli expressed pride in partnering with Euroclear, Citi, and BMO on this milestone transaction, which includes several firsts: the first USD digitally native note in Euroclear’s D-FMI, the first issuance on the platform by an Asia-based issuer, and the first DNN held in CMU or SIX. He noted that the success of this transaction demonstrates Euroclear’s D-FMI as a scalable solution for the adoption of digital bonds, helping to connect Asia and the world in capital market digitization.
Citi, which has previously supported AIIB on various transactions, sees this as a significant step in facilitating the issuance of digital bonds and unlocking the potential of digital assets for clients. Richard Zogheb, Head of Global Debt Capital Markets at Citi, remarked that this issuance reflects the growing adoption of digital assets in financial markets and highlighted Citi’s involvement in every phase of the transaction.
BMO Capital Markets, represented by Summer Hinton, Head of Global Markets International, expressed delight in being part of this landmark transaction. Hinton noted that digitalization is a priority for the financial industry, and BMO is committed to driving innovation in Debt Capital Markets that will be scalable for the future.
