The approval will allow the bank’s Hong Kong subsidiary to deal in and distribute virtual asset-related securities and provide securities advice to institutional clients.
Hong Kong skyline.
Photo by Ruslan Bardash on Unchained
Posted November 8, 2023 at 2:26 pm EST.
The Hong Kong-based subsidiary of SEBA Bank AG, a regulated Swiss bank for crypto assets, has received a license from the local financial regulator Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), according to a company press release on Wednesday.
The license is a step forward for SEBA’s continued expansion into the Asia Pacific region, and serves as another example of Hong Kong’s efforts to become a hub for virtual assets.
The license permits SEBA Hong Kong to conduct regulated activities to deal in and distribute all securities, including virtual asset products such as over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives and structured products that are backed by virtual assets.
The firm can also advise on securities and virtual assets to its institutional and professional investors.
“The region’s position at the forefront of finance, trading, and innovation has long been attractive to us, as servicing APAC clientele is an integral aspiration of the team’s DNA,” said Amy Yu, CEO APAC, SEBA Hong Kong, in the press release.
“We are tremendously excited by Hong Kong’s deep-rooted capital markets and appetite for investment and trading; to have secured this license from the SFC provides enormous potential for our business, owing to the well-established and defined regulatory framework that is present here,” she continued.
Founded in 2018, SEBA Bank currently has hubs in Switzerland, Abu Dhabi and Hong Kong. In August, SEBA received in-principle approval from Hong Kong’s SFC, leading to the license. Last week, the SFC announced plans to approve companies for some tokenized securities-related activities.
