SINGAPORE / KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA - Media OutReach - 30 July 2020 - Singapore's Fintech technology provider, Hashstacs Pte Ltd ("STACS"), today announced that it has partnered with Bursa Malaysia Berhad ("Bursa Malaysia") on a Blockchain Proof-of-Concept ("POC") project dubbed "Project Harbour" for its Bonds marketplace.

Project Harbour is centred around the usage of Distributed Ledger Technology (" DLT") as a register in facilitating  the growth of Labuan's bond marketplace. The project will take place in Malaysia's offshore market, Labuan, in collaboration with the Labuan Financial Exchange (LFX), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bursa Malaysia.

Mr Benjamin Soh, Managing Director of Hashstacs Pte Ltd, said: "Hashstacs will develop a blockchain solution to issue, service, trade and clear bonds on the platform. 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."

Bursa Malaysia, alongside the Securities Commission of Malaysia, Labuan Financial Services Authority, CIMB Investment Bank Berhad, Maybank Investment Bank Berhad and China Construction Bank Corporation Labuan Branch, will utilise the Trident Platform built by Hashstacs to test and manage the end to end trade lifecycle management of digital bonds. The blockchain based platform will facilitate issuances of digital bonds seamlessly, while providing a single source of truth to maintain the integrity of investors' holdings and track transactions. In addition, smart contract technology automates the movement of funds and securities, amplifying asset servicing and the provision of liquidity to market participants.

Datuk Muhamad Umar Swift, Chief Executive Officer of Bursa Malaysia, said: "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. The POC conducted in partnership with Hashstacs presents an opportunity to provide a valuable learning experience to build knowledge and obtain insights that will allow us to grow the bond marketplace. The POC aims to increase operational efficiency, driving down the cost of operations as well as the cost of issuing bonds.  We will continue to tap into emerging technological innovations to further develop the marketplace and improve the effectiveness and accessibility of the Exchange"

Project Harbour is aimed at exploring and harnessing the opportunities enabled by blockchain and tokenisation of assets. The creation of a blockchain powered infrastructure 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.

"Hashstacs has established a good track record in the capital markets blockchain space over the past year. The Trident Platform, powered by the STACS Blockchain and Settlity Infrastructure, is an enterprise grade, end-to-end blockchain solution designed for capital markets requirements. We are delighted to have an established institution of Bursa Malaysia's standing use our Settlity Infrastructure and STACS Blockchain, which is a testament to our state of having production-ready solutions." added Mr Soh.