SGX invests in corporate bond trading platform Trumid

THE Singapore Exchange (SGX) has led a US$53 million growth equity financing round in Trumid, a New York-based startup that runs an electronic corporate bond trading platform.

This financing takes Trumid's life-to-date external funding above US$100 million, it said on Tuesday.

The fresh capital will help Trumid scale its US corporate bond business and support the expansion of "protocols, products and geographies", it said in a statement.

Trumid opened for trading in 2015 and is used by 400 buy-side and sell-side institutions, it said.

Daily trading volume in the last quarter was over three times higher than the prior-year period, and more traders have utilised the platform each month since the fourth quarter of 2017, it added.

Chew Sutat, head of equities and fixed income at SGX, said: "Fixed income, which is one of SGX's strongest asset classes, is an area we are investing in as part of our multi-asset growth strategy. Our strategic investment in Trumid, backed by the success of its platform to date and the track record of its management team, opens the way for a deeper collaboration and broader opportunities."

Mike Sobel, president of Trumid, said the partnership with the SGX will allow Trumid to gain access to the Asian market: "Asian investor participation in US corporate credit markets is increasingly important. We look forward to tapping SGX's established network in Asia, to deliver global access to US dollar credit product."

Deutsche Boerse, which invested US$10 million for a minority stake in Trumid in 2017, also participated in Trumid's latest financing round. Recently, the SGX also led a US$44.4 million Series C funding round for Hong Kong-based Freightos, an online marketplace for freight rates that wants to be the "Expedia for freight".