The Thai Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a specialized-services license to the Hong Kong-based subsidiary of the fintech startup Fraction Group. The firm is allowed to issue and trade Ethereum tokens backed by physical and digital assets.
The firm was founded three years ago by Eka Nirapathpongporn, a former partner at Lazard’s investment bank. It positions the platform as a marketplace for investing, selling, and managing stakes in a range of assets — from urban condominiums to works of art and a private fund.
“Fraction offers the first SEC-approved implementation of Ethereum-based blockchain technology to manage fractional ownership of multiple assets,” said the company’s co-founder and CTO, Sean Salles.
In the framework of the first IFO investors will be offered stakes in landmark real estate assets developed by Magnolia Quality Development Corporation, Charn Issara and Nirvana Daii in the capital and on the islands. Their aggregate value is 15 billion Thai baht ($462 million).
To buy the minimum lot, investors will need only 5,000 Thai baht (about $150). The launch of the first IFO is expected in January–March 2022.
Secondary trading of the tokens will be conducted through Fraction’s global liquidity pool, with the assistance of the SEC-licensed digital asset broker named KULAP.
SE Digital, a subsidiary of the financial-services provider Seamico Securities, was the first regulated portal for conducting ICO in Thailand in late 2019.
In March 2021, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank and the security-token issuance technology provider Securitize conducted private placement of the first such instrument in Japan in accordance with local law.
Subscribe to ForkLog news on Telegram: ForkLog Feed — the full news feed, ForkLog — the most important news, infographics and opinions