[Digital Securities Forum 2023]Developing a new field of security tokens (ST) from a global perspective | CoinDesk JAPAN

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The progress of digitalization is accelerating in the investment world. The digital securities “security token” (ST) market is expanding. We asked Takao Takei, Managing Executive Officer of Tokai Tokyo Securities Investment Banking Company, about the changes in the global market brought about by the digitalization of assets.

Tokai Tokyo Securities
Investment Banking Company Co-Head of Company
Mr. Takao Takei

After graduating from Tokyo University of Science in 1990, he joined Tokai Bank (currently Mitsubishi UFJ Bank) and engaged in a wide range of financial operations at the bank both domestically and internationally. In 2021 he joined Tokai Tokyo Financial Holdings. In January 2022, he became the executive officer in charge of the newly established STO Center at Tokai Tokyo Securities, and has been in his current position since October 2013.

ST market continues to expand

The issuance amount of digital securities that sprouted in Japan in 2021 has exceeded approximately 62 billion yen in just under three years.

Both the number of projects and the amount per project have increased compared to last year, and I strongly feel that ST has been accepted in the market, and that expectations for ST and the number of people who want to enter this business have steadily increased. Masu.

On the other hand, in Japan, the balance of real estate STs accounts for more than 90% of the issued amount, and it cannot be said that they are necessarily fully demonstrating their characteristics and potential.

This market will continue to expand in the future. Projects backed by real estate continue to be formed, and products are expanding to include private assets as STs, overseas real estate, SDGs-related equipment such as solar and wind power, and projects outside the Tokyo metropolitan area. I think that will come out.

Always taking new initiatives in the ST market

The digital strategy advocated by Tokai Tokyo Financial Holdings and Tokai Tokyo Securities is progressing in various forms.

This year, we became the first in Japan to handle ST backed by a global private equity fund and sold it in a small private placement to Tokai Tokyo Securities customers via ADDX (an ST platform approved by the Monetary Authority of Singapore). . This is a realization of our goal since last year, “to sell products that were only accessible to institutional investors and a limited number of individual investors in the world by making them into ST, making them smaller and selling them.”

We are currently receiving inquiries from overseas funds through ADDX, and we would like to continue selling STs backed by overseas real estate and various private assets.

We are also undertaking new developments, such as jointly forming and selling real estate ST with HashDasH, an ST platform operator and online securities company specializing in ST, in which our group has invested.

At Tokai Tokyo Securities, we would like to leverage our global connections to continue new initiatives in this field, communicate the possibilities of ST, and contribute to the expansion of the market.

｜Reprinted from Nihon Keizai Shimbun “Digital Securities Forum 2023 Advertising Special” dated December 7, 2023
｜Image: CoinDesk JAPAN