Hong Kong's de facto central bank on Monday launched a pilot program to test intellectual property-backed lending.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority, in collaboration with the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau and the Intellectual Property Department, launched the intellectual property financing sandbox, where banks can test loans that rely on intellectual property as the underlying asset.

The HKMA said Bank of China (Hong Kong), HSBC (HKG:0005), and Standard Chartered (HKG:2888) would participate in the pilot, with participants coming in from the biotechnology, electronics, and technology sectors.