China’s CCB drops digital bond plans on bitcoin fears

The last-minute decision by a unit of China Construction Bank to cancel a trailblazing digital bond sale on a virtual exchange in a Malaysian island tax haven appears connected to a Chinese clampdown in the wake of the axing of Ant Group’s IPO.

Repercussions from China’s move to hit big fintech where it hurts appear to have only just begun.

On November 13, a branch of China Construction Bank (CCB) in the Malaysian offshore financial centre of Labuan, cancelled a $3 billion print of digital bonds, minutes before they were set to go live on the virtual Fusang Exchange.

Radio silence ensued for eight days, before Fusang issued a statement saying that CCB, the world’s second-largest lender by assets, had “decided not to proceed” with the plan.

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