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According to the Seoul Economic Daily, KB Kookmin Bank announced the issuance of a USD 100 million blockchain-based digital bond in the Hong Kong market, marking the first time a Korean bank has applied blockchain technology to an actual foreign-currency financing transaction. This issuance reduces the settlement cycle from the traditional five business days to three business days, helping streamline processes and lower counterparty settlement risk. The two-year USD digital bond was issued privately, with HSBC serving as the sole bookrunner; the issuance process was completed via HSBC’s digital asset platform, Orion.
According to the latest forecast from Morgan Stanley, global bond issuance related to artificial intelligence (AI) could approach $570 billion in 2026, more than doubling from last year's figure.Given that capital expenditures by hyperscalers are expected to surpass $1 trillion by 2027, Morgan Stanley believes the pace of bond issuance will accelerate further in the second half of this year.As of the end of May this year, approximately $236 billion in AI-related debt financing had been issued globally, roughly four times the volume seen during the same period last year.As tech companies continue to escalate their spending on AI, which increasingly exceeds what their own profitability can cover, debt financing is becoming an increasingly important source of capital for them.Morgan Stanley noted that to diversify their funding channels, hyperscalers are increasingly issuing bonds outside of the US dollar market. For instance, giants like Google's parent company Alphabet and Amazon have issued substantial euro-denominated bonds in the European market. (Cailianshe)