The company is working towards becoming a MAS-licensed Recognised Market Operator
Singapore blockchain infrastructure startup ICHX Tech has announced it has raised funding from the Singapore Exchange (SGX) and Heliconia Capital Management, a subsidiary of Temasek Holdings. The investment amount was undisclosed.
Post-investment, the company has appointed two financial industry veterans to its Board of Director. They are Chew Sutat, Executive Vice President and Head of Equities & Fixed Income at SGX, and Chua Kim Leng, former Special Advisor (Financial Supervision) and Assistant Managing Director at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
ICHX Tech will use the newly-raised funding to further develop its new capital markets platform iSTOX.
iSTOX is providing an alternative way for companies to seek capital fundraising by way of Security Token Offerings (STOs). An STO allows an issuer to raise capital through the iSTOX platform and is defined as a security under the Securities and Futures Act.
STOs can be backed by a variety of underlying assets, including shares in a company, debt, real assets, or future profits and revenue of an enterprise or project.
The STOs also allow for fractional ownership of assets, potentially enabling issuers to build a broader, more diversified investor base.
In addition, iSTOX will give investors in STOs access to liquidity via a secondary trading platform.
“iSTOX presents a more flexible, inclusive and efficient platform that we believe will greatly benefit both companies looking to raise capital and investors seeking bespoke investment opportunities,” said Danny Toe, Chief Executive Officer of ICHX Tech.
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“In this way, we aim to offer a future-ready platform for capital fundraising which offers substantial benefits to complement existing capital market mechanisms,” he added.
While iSTOX uses blockchain and smart contracts to issue and store STOs (which ensures greater transparency and faster transaction times), it is not a cryptocurrency exchange as all issuances will be bought and sold using fiat currency.
“Utilising blockchain technology, iSTOX is able to offer STOs and address needs of both investors and issuers which are not adequately met today. In essence, STOs extend the boundaries of capital markets as we know them today, and this is why we believe STOs represent the future of capital fundraising,” said Toe.
Currently, ICHX Tech is working to be licensed and regulated by the MAS as a Recognised Market Operator. The iSTOX platform will go live once these licenses have been obtained.
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Image Credit: ICHX Tech
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