Saxo Bank has broadened access to Chinese securities, further cementing its position as a gateway to China for its international client base, with the launch of mainland China bonds trading for qualified institutional investors.
The multi-asset trading company has connected its platform to the Hong Kong-based Bond Connect mechanism which allows overseas and Mainland China investors to trade in each other’s bond markets. With this announcement, Saxo Bank becomes the first in the market to offer full digital access to mainland China bonds through the gatway, according to the firm.
Qualified customers will now be able to invest Chinese onshore government bonds and central bank paper, among other Chinese bond instruments which constitute one of the largest markets in the world with a size of $12 trillion. Institutional investors will have access to 127 China bonds with CNH as a settlement currency.
The announced access to a market that has historically been complicated and cumbersome for foreign investors to access comes weeks after the appointment of Fan Xu as CEO of Greater China at Saxo Bank and the acquisition of a 52 percent stake of Saxo Bank by China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. paving the way for long-term business development in the region.
Fan Xu, CEO of Greater China, Saxo Bank, said: “Chinese securities are an increasingly important part of an international investors’ portfolio, as demonstrated by record inflows into Chinese stocks in January this year, as well as strong international inflows into Chinese bonds in 2018. At the same time, Chinese government bonds emerged among the best-performing government bonds of 2018. We are therefore proud to be the first to deliver full digital access to Chinese bonds to help our clients build strong diversified investment portfolios.
“The addition of Chinese bonds to our platforms further cements our position as a gateway to China for international investors. As the importance of the Chinese economy to global capital markets continues to increase, we remain committed to providing clients with the broadest investment opportunities across asset classes.”
Fan Xu is based in Shanghai and is responsible for shaping and delivering on Saxo Bank’s strategy for the region. With over 20 years of experience in financial services and markets, with considerable service time for Citigroup in New York and China Everbright Bank in Beijing, Xu was most recently Chief Investment Officer at CITC Prudential Life Insurance. He holds a PhD in Atmospheric Sciences from Columbia University and conducted research in NASA.
