The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is exploring tokenised payments and digital settlement systems as part of efforts to modernise its capital market operations.

The multilateral development bank is assessing whether emerging financial technologies could have applications in its treasury activities while expanding its global fundraising capabilities, according to a report by the South China Morning Post.

Domenico Nardelli, AIIB’s Treasurer and acting Chief Financial Officer, said the bank is interested in emerging financial technologies such as digital payments and tokenised settlement.

“That is a sector that we are exploring with interest,”

Nardelli said.

“We wanted to understand if there are applications that are portable into the treasury space.”

The exploration comes as AIIB aims to raise a record US$11 billion this year, following two consecutive years of raising US$10 billion.

Expanding Hong Kong presence

AIIB plans to open a physical hub in Hong Kong before the end of the year, marking its second office outside mainland China after establishing a hub in Abu Dhabi two years ago.

Nardelli said the Hong Kong presence would bring the bank closer to regional clients and global liquidity pools as the city continues to develop its digital asset and financial technology ecosystem.

“We will have better ability to cover the Hong Kong dollar market, but also other currencies, because there are many offshore investors who are based in Hong Kong,”

he said.

Hong Kong has been expanding its digital finance infrastructure and tokenisation initiatives.

The city recently approved its first digitally native tokenised fund, allowing professional investors to hold direct ownership of underlying assets through a public blockchain.

Financial authorities are also preparing a platform to support the issuance and settlement of tokenised bonds.

AIIB is already active in Hong Kong’s bond market. Earlier this year, the institution issued a HK$4 billion three-year sustainable development bond, following its debut public bond sale in February 2025.

Addressing market risks

Geopolitical tensions remain a key challenge for AIIB’s capital market outlook, with potential effects on oil prices, inflation and US dollar yield curves, which are important to the bank’s funding activities.

To address economic uncertainty, AIIB has approved a financing facility to support member countries facing severe disruptions, particularly those affecting food and energy security linked to the conflict in the Middle East.

Despite broader market challenges, Nardelli expressed confidence in AIIB’s ability to access additional global liquidity through the Hong Kong hub and a broader range of debt instruments.

“I still think we have not maximised our reach to the global investor space,”

he said.

Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Hong Kong, based on image by Artzstar via Magnific