Hana Securities is joining hands with Upbit Global to look for new business opportunities such as digital asset management, product development and infrastructure building, with Singapore as a base.

Hana Securities said on Sept. 14 it signed a memorandum of understanding with Upbit Global on Sept. 11 at its headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, to cooperate in business in digital assets and finance.

Under the agreement, the two companies plan to develop new business models by combining Hana Securities' finance and asset management capabilities with Upbit Global's digital asset technology and overseas network.

They will also use their respective business foundations secured in Singapore. Hana Securities operates asset manager HAMA (Hana Asset Management Asia) there, and Upbit Global is also running overseas digital asset business with Singapore as a base.

The companies plan to gradually expand cooperation projects centred on Singapore by using local networks and licences they hold. They also plan to seek additional business opportunities based on regulatory compliance and investor protection.

Hana Securities also plans to link the cooperation to expanding its security token offering (STO) business. It plans to build a foundation for issuing and trading existing financial products such as stocks, bonds and funds in token form and to gradually prepare infrastructure such as an issuance platform in line with implementation of related systems.

Kang Sung-mook (강성묵), CEO of Hana Securities, said, "We are speeding up our digital asset business to build a foundation for issuing and trading traditional financial products such as stocks, bonds and funds in token form." He said, "In line with the pace of formalising the STO system, we will gradually build related infrastructure such as an issuance platform and actively prepare for the STO market to be implemented next year."