The Ministry of Finance of Thailand is set to issue digital investment tokens worth 5 billion baht ( US$149.7 million ) as a way to broaden retail access to government bonds. 

Under the new initiative meant to test the market, retail investors will be able to invest in government bonds for as low as 100 baht, using the digital tokens, which will be called G-Tokens.

Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira told local reporters that the G-Tokens will be launched within the next two months. 

While the G-Tokens will support the Thai government’s budget borrowing plan, the tokens themselves are neither debt instruments nor cryptocurrencies. 

Once launched, G-Tokens will be tradeable on licensed digital asset exchanges. “Investors can invest with a small amount of cash for the new tokens [and they] will earn higher returns than banks’ deposits,” says Pichai. 

At present, Thai lenders offer 12-month deposit interest rates of 1.25% to 1.5%. In contrast, the Bank of Thailand’s benchmark interest rate is pegged at 1.75%. 

The impending launch of G-Tokens comes on the heels of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s calls for the Thai government to consider issuing stablecoins backed by government securities, and other suggestions to grow the domestic stock market. Thaksin is the father of current Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, and is the de-facto head of the ruling Pheu Thai Party.