KUALA LUMPUR — Khazanah Nasional Berhad, together with the Securities Commission Malaysia, has launched a MYR 100 million tokenised sukuk, marking the first blockchain-based debt capital market issuance in the country.

The issuance was carried out under Khazanah’s Danum Sukuk Programme, a medium-term Islamic debt programme with a limit of up to MYR 20 billion.

As reported by The Edge Malaysia, the inaugural tranche of the tokenised sukuk carries a one-year tenor and is structured under the Shariah principle of Wakalah bi al-Istithmar.

Tokenised sukuk is a digital representation of conventional sukuk, recorded using distributed ledger technology (DLT), where ownership and transaction data are stored as tokens on a shared ledger.

The system creates an encrypted, immutable digital record — a “digital twin” — of the underlying capital market instrument.

The technology is expected to improve efficiency in issuance, settlement, and record-keeping processes.

Khazanah managing director Amirul Feisal Wan Zahir said the initiative is aimed at testing how digital technology can enhance the issuance and management of capital market instruments.

He said the project is not merely about introducing a new product, but about building a more efficient and transparent market infrastructure over the long term.

Securities Commission Malaysia chairman Mohammad Faiz Azmi said the initiative aligns with the Capital Market Masterplan 2026–2030, which targets stronger bond and sukuk markets through innovation, improved market connectivity, and greater execution efficiency.

Tokenisation is expected to enhance transparency, broaden investor participation, and create a more dynamic market.

At present, corporate bonds in Malaysia are typically accessible only to high-net-worth individuals, corporates, and institutional investors such as banks, pension funds, and insurers.

Through tokenisation, investors may be able to purchase fractional ownership of sukuk, lowering entry thresholds and widening market access.

The inaugural issuance involves institutions including CIMB Group Holdings Berhad and Malayan Banking Berhad, while investors include Credit Guarantee Corporation Malaysia, KWAP, OCBC Bank Malaysia, and other institutional participants. (DK/KR/ZH)