Singapore, China bond markets to get boost from SGX-CCDC pact

THE Singapore Exchange (SGX) has inked an agreement with the China Central Depository & Clearing Co (CCDC) to strengthen and promote the bond markets of both countries.

The CCDC is a central securities depository for Chinese government bonds.

"This is CCDC's first comprehensive memorandum of understanding (MOU) of strategic cooperation with an international exchange that covers the full lifecycle from issuance to settlement and custody," SGX said in a press statement on Friday.

Under the MOU, SGX will work with CCDC to promote the internationalisation of China's bond market, and provide Chinese bond products and services internationally.

Other initiatives include enhancing cross-border connectivity to facilitate mutual investor access in Singapore and China, as well as jointly developing the bond market in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone.

Both parties will also research bond products such as smart beta indices and develop exchange-traded funds (ETFs) linked to CCDC's ChinaBond indices.

In November, SGX welcomed the listing of NikkoAM-ICBCSG China Bond ETF, which is the maiden ETF linked to the ChinaBond-ICBC RMB Bond Index suite.

Separately, the Singapore bourse also saw the listing of six China Development Bank's domestic bonds earlier this month, marking the first time China onshore RMB bonds are listed on the exchange.