• HKEX opens office in Singapore, its first overseas office
• HKEX’s base in South-East Asia to strengthen its unique connectivity role between China and the region
• Belt and Road Initiative and fintech present tremendous growth opportunities for Asia
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) today (Wednesday) expands its presence in Asia with the opening of the Singapore office of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (SEHK) and the Hong Kong Futures Exchange Limited (HKFE), wholly-owned subsidiaries of HKEX.
“The Belt and Road Initiative and fintech (financial technology) present tremendous growth opportunities for Asia,” said HKEX Chief Executive Charles Li. “We want to work with partners in our region to make the pie bigger for everyone. Asia has the world’s most dynamic economy now so there’s great potential for us to succeed together.”
It is the first overseas office of SEHK and HKFE. The office will help the exchanges serve their clients in Singapore and the rest of South-East Asia and reach out to more potential clients in the region.
“The office is another step in our plan to develop our markets as unique platforms for cross-border access by international and Chinese investors, as well as attractive destination markets in their own right, offering a range of relevant products across three asset classes: Equities, Commodities and Fixed Income and Currency,” said Mr Li. “As China and the world’s other markets intensify their interaction, we aspire to be the global exchange of choice across asset classes both for our Chinese clients and our international clients seeking China exposure.”
“For investors interested in Mainland China’s equity and fixed income markets, we offer easy, direct access through our Stock and Bond Connect programmes,” Mr Li added.
HKEX’s markets are among the world’s most international markets. Trading by individuals and institutions from overseas accounts for more than 40 per cent of SEHK turnover*, with Singapore alone providing more than 8 per cent of the international total. Listings include shares of companies from Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Continental Europe, the UK, Canada and the US, as well as Hong Kong, Mainland China and Taiwan.
“We offer open markets, a deep liquidity pool – we have been one of the world leaders in IPO (initial public offering) fundraising for more than a decade – and a wide range of products for trading, investment and risk management. They include a series of Renminbi (RMB) products and shares in the New Economy companies that listed on our Stock Exchange recently,” Mr Li said.
The Belt and Road Initiative is expected to bridge the 'infrastructure gap' and thus accelerate economic growth across Asia, the Middle East and the Eastern half of Europe. South-East Asia is an important base for the Belt and Road Initiative. Hong Kong aims to be a trusted partner of Mainland China and the international investment community by providing a platform to consolidate resources, raise funds, and diversify risk for Belt and Road projects while fulfilling its own objective of growing into a wealth management centre, risk management centre, and RMB pricing centre.
Booming regional trade and the region’s geographical proximity with China makes South-East Asia a perfect place for further promotion of RMB internationalisation, a process that has created opportunities for Hong Kong, the leading offshore RMB centre, Mainland China and other Asian markets to work together, and is expected to provide more opportunities in the future.
Meanwhile, the development of fintech has added a new dimension to the global economy and opened up many fresh possibilities. Hong Kong and other parts of Asia are working to build ecosystems conducive to innovation, and HKEX is keen to play a key role.
* Source: HKEX Cash Market Transaction Survey 2016
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