CIMB completes RM1.38 billion tokenized sukuk settlement pilot

CIMB Group has successfully completed a pilot program in Malaysia involving the settlement of tokenized sukuk using tokenized deposits. The pilot was conducted under Bank Negara Malaysia’s Digital Asset Innovation Hub, providing a controlled environment to test the integration of digital assets with commercial bank money.

The exercise was part of a RM1.68 billion issuance under CIMB Islamic Bank’s Senior Sukuk Wakalah Programme, with tenors ranging from five to 15 years. Of the total issuance, RM1.38 billion ($342 million) was tokenized and subscribed to by 12 institutional investors, while the remaining RM300 million was issued as traditional sukuk.

According to Malaysia’s Second Finance Minister Amir Hamzah Azizan, the pilot tests how technology can improve financial market efficiency, transparency, and connectivity while maintaining Shariah compliance and investor protection. The use of distributed ledger technology for both securities and deposits aims to increase automation, improve liquidity management, and reduce settlement delays without altering the underlying economic or Shariah structure of the sukuk.