Qatar National Bank issues first Blockchain enabled digital bond raising $500 million

Qatar National Bank (QNB) has launched its first-ever native blockchain enabled digital bond issuance, raising $500 million in what is being described as the largest transaction of its kind by a financial institution in the Middle East and Africa. The digital bond issuance was powered by HSBC Orion Blockchain solution. HSBC Orion is the number 1 platform globally for digital bond volume in 2025 to date and the only to have successfully supported digital bonds for issuers in the region, in addition to the world’s largest digital bond issued in Hong Kong earlier this month.

This step comes as part of QNB’s strategy to tap new sources of stable funding from new markets with digitally innovative funding sources. HSBC acted as a sole bookrunner on the transaction, a further step in its ambition to bring end-to-end blockchain-based solutions to its global client base.

As per the press release, this strategic collaboration, bringing HSBC’s global experience with QNB’s local expertise, lays the groundwork for digital assets to become a regular feature of Qatar’s financial landscape, in line with Qatar National Vision 2030. It also showcases the potential of distributed ledger technology (DLT) to enhance liquidity in the bond market.

The Bonds were issued under QNB’s EMTN programme and will be listed in the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited, which will also handle the permission to deal in DN Notes by way of debt issues to professional investors. Global investors can access the digital bond through accounts held with CMU, Euroclear and Clearstream, onboarding onto HSBC Orion as direct participant, or via their existing custodian who can participate through one of the above options.

Ms. Noor Al Naimi, Senior Executive Vice President, QNB Group Treasury & Financial Institutions, noted, “This inaugural Digitally Native bond issuance transaction is part of our funding diversification strategy and broadens the range of funding sources available to QNB. QNB Group will continue to play a pioneering role in adoption of transformative technologies.”

Mr. Abdul Hakeem Mostafawi, Chief Executive Officer of HSBC in Qatar, said, “QNB’s role as the first-mover lays the groundwork for digital assets to become a regular feature of Qatar’s financial landscape and the wider region. This transaction signifies the momentum behind digital assets and the pivotal role that HSBC is playing both within the region and globally to enable the transformation of capital markets that are smarter, more transparent and more connected.”

Previously QNB, had issued along with Standard Chartered and DMZ Finance, an RWA tokenization infrastructure provider, the Dubai International Financial Centre’s (DIFC) first regulated tokenized money market fund, the QCD Money Market Fund (units in QCDT).

Qatar National Bank also integrated JPMorgan’s Kinexys blockchain platform to handle US dollar corporate payments. The Kinexys Digital Payments platform provides QNB’s corporate clients with real-time, 24/7 settlement of USD transactions.