A subsidiary of the Catalist-listed VCPlus Limited has received in-principle approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to provide custodial services for capital market products, including tokenised securities.
In a Nov 18 press release, the subsidiary, Custody Plus, announced its successful application for a capital markets services licence.
VCPlus Limited, formerly Anchor Resources, is a financial technology company listed in Singapore. Its fintech business offers consultancy services related to financial and blockchain technology and fintech regulation and licensing.
The company secured shareholders’ approval in April 2021 to diversify into the new business of custodian for digital assets and consultancy in the financial and blockchain technology sector.
Coupled with the completion of the company’s disposal of its only gold mining asset in May, the Group’s business going forward comprises solely the new business, says VCPlus.
Clarence Chong, CEO of VCPlus, says: “It is an honour to receive MAS’s in-principle approval to provide custodial services in Singapore. This is a major step towards VCPlus’ vision to be a leading player in the growing digital assets ecosystem”.
See also: VCPlus expands consultancy services to Indonesia
He adds: “We firmly believe that the transparent regulatory framework in Singapore is critical to the progressive and sustainable development of Singapore as a digital assets hub, instilling greater confidence and trust in the market. As a listed company in Singapore, it will provide additional assurance to our customers to custodise their digital assets with us.”
According to the company, tokenisation of global illiquid assets is estimated to be a US$16 trillion ($21.99 trillion) business opportunity by 2030 and the growth in tokenised assets is expected in real estate, equities, bonds and investment funds, as well as less traditional assets such as car fleets and patents.
Riding on the growth of digital assets, Custody Plus is committed to protecting investor interests by offering custodial services as an independent oversight and safekeeping of investor assets with robust compliance standards, says the company. “We will be working closely with other stakeholders to build an innovative and responsible digital asset ecosystem in Singapore and globally.”
See also: Formerly a miner of gold, VCPlus now wants to manage digital gold
Last month, VCPlus announced an expansion of its consultancy services to Indonesia. VCPlus signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with two cooperative agencies in Indonesia and Indonesian business partner PT Alpha Millennia Indonesia to provide the Koperasi and their over 2,300 members with access to a suite of technology solutions for their operations.
Chong told The Edge Singapore last November that there is a role for a “CDP or Central Depository equivalent”, which is the custodian for an investor’s Singapore shares.
“What we see currently lacking in the market that prohibits institutional investors to come in, is to have properly regulated service providers. If you look at the traditional capital market, we have safekeeping, we have proper trading and settlement, we have proper compliance,” says Chong.
