Finora Global, a Korean company, announced on the 10th that it has built an STO (Security Token Offering) platform operated on a statutory basis and is preparing to launch full-scale service in March.
Mohammed Hussein P. Pangandaman, Administrator of the Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan (AFAB) in the Philippines, and a key delegation officially visited Korea the previous day.
The company explained that the purpose of this visit was to conduct a final inspection (due diligence) of the digital asset exchange and STO platform built by Finora Global, which is established in Korea, and its Philippine local operating entity, Finora Technology.
Finora Global stated that, following this due diligence, AFAB plans to issue ODAL Class 1 and Class 2 full licenses through a board resolution within February.
Finora Technology is a corporation duly incorporated under Philippine law with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the Philippines, and is registered with AFAB as a local service provider of digital asset services. The company added that it had already obtained ODAL Class 1 and Class 2 provisional licenses on December 18 last year.
ODAL Class 1 is a license that permits digital asset trading, foreign exchange trading, listing, exchange, custody, and transfer using blockchain and distributed ledger technology, enabling the operation of a utility coin exchange at an international level.
ODAL Class 2 allows various forms of digital asset issuance, including STO, token generation events (TGE), ICO, IEO, and NFTs, as well as the operation of an over-the-counter fractional investment-type securities platform.
Through this, Finora has secured a legal foundation to operate not only a simple coin exchange, but also a digital securities trading platform linked to real-world assets, according to the company.
At the Korea-Philippines Economic Cooperation Seminar held at Seoul National University on the 9th, AFAB Administrator Pangandaman said in his commemorative remarks, "Expectations are high for the STO, which has been formally codified into law for the first time in Asia, and we will issue the full licenses within February."
Choi Inseon, CEO of Finora Global, said, "Most STOs in Korea and across Asia are still stuck at a stage lacking accountability, remaining within 'experiments' or 'sandboxes (temporary permissions),'" and added, "However, AFAB's ODAL is a regulatory framework that is fully established by law, which means it is not a system allowed on a trial basis for a certain period, but one that operates on a permanent basis under formal legislation."
He continued, "Finora clearly distinguishes real-world assets (RWA), security tokens (STO), and NFTs by function and is implementing them in actual business," and predicted, "This case will serve as a model that can be directly benchmarked by countries across Asia, including the over-the-counter fractional investment STO pilot operators to be selected by the Korean government."
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