India plans to issue its first tokenized bonds with transactions in wholesale CBDC

The issue volume through the state-owned company REC Limited will amount to at least 5 billion rupees ($57 million). REC Limited is engaged in financing energy infrastructure. The pilot project will be presented at the annual September fintech event in Mumbai. It will be available to a limited group of investors. Trading will require two digital accounts. The first is a wallet with wholesale CBDC for purchase, and the second is an electronic securities wallet.

A three-month initial lock-up period will be set for the tokenized bonds. By December, exchanges are expected to create a secondary market for them. In addition, the RBI and the Securities and Exchange Commission of India are creating a separate digital wallet for DEMAT 2.0 bonds.