Hong Kong digital asset financial services group HashKey Holdings Limited announced Wednesday that its wholly-owned subsidiary, HKDAG (Singapore) Pte. Ltd, has entered into a non-legally binding framework agreement with the major shareholder of Asia Pacific Exchange Pte. Ltd. (APEX) and APEX in relation to a possible acquisition of the entire equity interests in APEX.
HashKey said in a statement that APEX and its group operate a comprehensive and self-contained financial market infrastructure in Singapore.
As a licensed derivatives exchange in Singapore, APEX holds the “Approved Exchange (AE)” license issued by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Asia Pacific Clear Pte. Ltd., a member of APEX, holds the “Approved Clearing House (ACH)” license, enabling integrated issuance and settlement capabilities.
Under Singapore’s stringent regulatory framework, only three market participants currently hold both licenses concurrently.
Upon successful completion of the Proposed Acquisition, HashKey is expected to further refine its execution and clearing infrastructure layout for the institutional market, driving the development of a next-generation financial infrastructure encompassing trading, custody, payment, clearing, and settlement.
This will enhance its comprehensive service capabilities for financial institutions and institutional-level market participants.
As a major international financial center in Asia, Singapore maintains a leading position in financial market infrastructure development and fintech innovation.
The proposed acquisition will also further establish a more scalable regulated presence for the Group in Asia’s core financial markets, consistent with its broader strategy of building a diversified, multi-jurisdictional fintech platform operating under robust regulatory frameworks.
The proposed acquisition is subject to the entering into of the definitive documents and the approval of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
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