Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) has granted the first security token offering (STO) license to Cathay Securities. The regulatory approval, announced on Nov. 9, is for Cathay's "Sunshine Green Yield" STO bonds, featuring a six-year maturity, 3.5% initial annual interest, and an initial principal amount of 30 million New Taiwan dollars ($930,000). Enterprise owners, through token subscriptions, can procure green electricity for environmental initiatives, receiving variable interest rate payments of up to 5.8%.

Trading for the bonds starts on Dec. 12 on Cathay's STO exchange platform. The FSC's classification of tokenized assets as securities enables financial institutions to apply for licensing, subject to fundraising limits and specific investor criteria. Cathay collaborated with Numerix and National Chung Hsing University to develop Taiwan's first STO evaluation model, claiming 95% accuracy in assessing default probabilities for small and medium-sized businesses. Founded in 2004, Cathay Securities is a major financial services firm in Taiwan, serving millions of investors and brokerage clients.