Family office of ‘shop king’ Tang Shing-bor wants to use blockchain to ‘tokenise’ real estate holdings
- Fractional ownership concept using blockchain tokens will boost liquidity in the city’s property market, says Stan Group chairman Stan Tang Yiu-sing
- Proposal for blockchain-based exchange for investors seeking access to property investment to be heard by the SFC in January
The Stan Group, the family-owned office that represents the assets of “shop king” Tang Shing-bor, will meet with Hong Kong’s securities watchdog early next year to seek approval to sell tokenised real estate using blockchain technology.
If approved, the application would reflect the first time the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has permitted the use of tokens to legally trade in Hong Kong with real estate as the underlying asset.
The proposed token scheme comes as a chill has descended upon the local property market amid concerns of a synchronised global economic slowdown as the US-China trade war escalates.
Early this month, the Stan Group, chaired by 33-year-old Stan Tang Yiu-sing, the son of the elder Tang, signed a memorandum of understanding with Hong Kong-based security token insurance platform Liquefy “to jointly explore the business opportunities of real estate tokenisation”.
“In taking this bold first step towards the future of the real estate sector in Hong Kong, we envision far better access and greater liquidity in the real estate market due to the fractional ownership that will be attained with tokenisation and our real estate exchange under development,” Stan Tang said in a statement.
In January, the Stan Group said it would seek to list its hotel arm on the Hong Kong stock exchange, with an expected debut in 2021. It also tried unsuccessfully to sell HK$8 billion worth of commercial properties in July last year.
