Laser Digital, the digital assets arm of Nomura, is backing a new tokenized credit product aimed at Saudi small and medium-sized businesses. The zEMS Vault is being launched with ZIG Finance and runs on BNB Chain. It targets $100 million and lets eligible institutional investors gain exposure to a pool of SME loans through a token.
The setup is more complicated than the pitch. The loans come from Beehive, a lending platform regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority. Laser Digital sets risk standards and advises on tokenization. KAIO handles the onchain administration across the vault’s lifecycle. Zamanat leads structuring and Sharia advisory, which matters for Gulf investors who want products built around Islamic finance principles.
How subscriptions and redemptions work
Investors subscribe and redeem in stablecoins, so they do not have to wait on traditional wires and custodian paperwork. That sounds smoother than the underlying asset. SME loans are not liquid, and the vault still has to manage withdrawal demand if many investors want out at once. KYC checks apply on both entry and exit. This is not an open DeFi pool.
The announcement came on November 11, 2026. It follows a strategic partnership formed in August between Laser Digital and ZIG Finance and its ZIGChain network. At that time, Laser Digital invested about $8 million into ZIGChain, with a stated goal of driving at least $100 million in total value locked across vaults tied to SME financing and private credit. Those products were meant to cover Gulf Cooperation Council countries and other emerging markets. The first vault now carries the full $100 million target.
What the partners bring
ZIG Markets says it has originated more than $50 million in loans with no defaults. The partners are leaning on that record as they enter Saudi Arabia. They also want to copy the vault model in other emerging markets and credit strategies, though the first raise will likely decide how quickly that happens.
For BNB Chain, hosting a product backed by a Nomura subsidiary adds institutional credibility. For Laser Digital, the vault extends a regulated digital assets push that already includes tokenized funds. The firm also received conditional national trust bank approval in the US by May 2026.
The risks to watch
SME lending carries more credit risk than lending to large companies. A token wrapper does not change who repays the loan. The key test is whether the $100 million raise lands. If it does, it would signal real appetite for Gulf SME credit onchain and make follow-up vaults easier to sell.
