Malaysia headquartered RHB Investment Bank (RHB) has implemented Fidessa as its trading platform across Asia. The system, managed by Fidessa throughout the region, provides algorithmic trading across all member markets, ‘intelligent’ indications of interest (IOIs) and a centralised order management system (OMS) with integrated middle-office to support RHB’s regional business. The ability to on-board a […]
Distributed ledger technology provider Ripple and Japanese financial services firm SBI Holdings have announced the creation of a joint partnership, which will expand Ripple into the Asian market. Ripple, which focuses on the using blockchain-like technology for payments, is based predominantly in San Francisco with presences in New York, London and Sydney. SBI is a US$28 […]
Bank of America Merrill Lynch has launched an automated US dollar cross-border cash pooling services for corporations operating in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone. ZF TRW, a division of ZF Friedrichshafen, manufacturers of automobile safety systems, has implemented the working capital solution and is serving as the pilot client.
The Singapore Exchange is to launch FX block futures on ICAP’s FX platform EBS Market, in a deal the two companies say will bridge the FX OTC and futures markets. The move comes as regulators around the world seek to move as much trading activity towards cleared platforms as possible, as part of the ongoing G20 reform agenda.
Deutsche Börse strengthened its links with mainland China this week with the establishment of a partnership with the Shanghai Stock Exchange and China Financial Futures Exchange to create new marketplace for the trading of renminbi-denominated offshore products under the new brand of the China Europe International Exchange.
A prosperous, clean and safe place to visit, Singapore also offers a wide variety of culinary delights.
Standard Chartered Bank, has opened a Global Collective Intelligence and Command Centre at Technology Park Malaysia, which aims to develop new technology to improve banking services. The centre is staffed with software engineers, operations specialists and service partners, co-located in a 33,000 square feet fully-digitised and secured environment. “Defining and implementing our digital aspiration is a […]
Closer links between the Shanghai Stock Exchange and UK and European exchanges may be on the cards. The London and Shanghai exchanges are exploring a scheme to link their markets. At the same time, European exchange group Euronext announced a deal with the Shanghai Stock Exchange to promote its listed members to Chinese investors.
An interesting trend is developing in the halal sector: regional hubs are developing in places that have some local demand but not the size that would be significant markets on their own. Think of Malaysia (the largest) or Dubai or tiny Brunei. Each sees the halal sector as being strategic to their economic growth, and for Dubai and Brunei at least, as key aspects of their economic diversification. This trend has the potential to support global growth in the Islamic economy as well as SME development but need a lot of (costly) infrastructure put in place to open up the international side to SMEs
Swift has named the 20 finalists for the 2015 Innotribe Startup Challenge finale, which will take place at Sibos in Singapore this October. The finalists include companies focused on personal finance, foreign exchange, data protection, mobile banking and e-commerce as well as social media, big data, payments and many other areas.
Kuala Lumpur-based Hong Leong Bank Berhad has selected the Intellect Global Transaction Banking platform as the basis for a digital transformation of its wholesale banking services.
The London Stock Exchange has welcomed BOCI Securities as its first member from Hong Kong. BOCI Securities, a wholly owned subsidiary of BOC International Holdings, joins London Stock Exchange less than two months after regulatory approval was received from Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission allowing Hong Kong firms to become members.
The Chinese renminbi continues to gain ground internationally as more banks adopt the currency, propelling its position into the top five global payment currencies worldwide, according to the latest batch of data from Swift.
The London Stock Exchange has obtained approval for Hong Kong companies to become members. Previously, only companies from the European Economic Area and Israel could join.
The Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect link has made significant in-roads in the opening of China’s capital markets to international trading but barriers to participation, including restricted trading strategies, introduce risk and create operational complexity. The long-term success of the venture hinges on removing these barriers, according to a study carried out for the DTCC.
Singapore futures market Cleartrade Exchange has launched a new matching and trading platform, CLTX Trader, which will go live on Deutsche Börse’s global trading architecture. The exchange says the new technology will help support more advanced trading strategies for commodity derivatives.
Deutsche Börse plans a joint venture with the Shanghai Stock Exchange and China Financial Futures Exchange to develop and market Chinese-based financial instruments to investors outside mainland China.
Japanese investment bank Daiwa Securities has transferred its Hong Kong business onto a new post-trade processing platform built by specialist vendor Torstone. The bank says the move is part of a long-term plan to revamp its back-office technology in the city, as Hong Kong steps up its role in the integration of China’s capital markets into the global mainstream.
Africa and Asia are the centres of innovation in payments, with the developed markets of the US and Western Europe lagging behind, but the trend is towards domestic offerings rather than regional or international ones, says the latest Payments Innovation Jury Report.
Singapore’ DBS Bank has begun a major overhaul of its financial crime prevention strategy, as the bank seeks to upgrade its suspicious activity monitoring, due diligence and risk tools.
Germany’s Deutsche Börse and China Construction Bank have entered into a strategic partnership and have signed a ‘preferred partnership’ agreement under which they will explore the opportunities for more cooperation.
Hong Kong’s share of the international Renminbi market has fallen over the past two years as other countries increase their share, which now stands at 25% compared to 17% in February 2013
Myanmar’s Yoma Bank is to install a new core banking system provided by vendor Misys, as part of a major transformation project at the privately-owned bank. Yoma especially wanted to be in a position to benefit from the growth of mobile technology in the country.
Deutsche Börse, Eurex and the Bombay Stock Exchange have further extended their strategic cooperation offering connectivity services. Participants of BSE will be able to use Deutsche Börse’s resilient low latency N7 network services to connect to BSE back-ends in India through the Deutsche Börse access points in Hong Kong and Singapore.
Japan’s Financial Services Agency has ambitious plans to more than double the proportion of foreign investors in Tokyo’s securities market by 2020. The plans are part of a wider shift linked to ‘Abenomics’, the government push to revitalise Japan’s economy.
The Chinese renminbi has become one of the world’s top five payments currencies, according to new figures released by Swift. The currency, first introduced to foreign investors in 2007, overtook the Canadian dollar and the Australian dollar in the last two months of 2014 to reach the top five.
Japan Exchange Group is planning to introduce a new derivatives trading system for its derivatives-focused subsidiary the Osaka Exchange, using technology provided by Nasdaq.
Jan Verplancke is stepping down as chief information officer and group head of technology and operations at Standard Chartered, as is Richard Goulding, chief risk officer. The news of their departure comes as the banks announced further restructuring, including the closure of its institutional cash equities, equity research and equity capital markets businesses as part of a strategic plan to ditch “non-core or underperforming businesses”.
A landmark deal between China’s Hong Kong and Shanghai stock exchanges is set to open up unrestricted access to the China A-shares market to foreign investors for the first time, starting this month. The deal also reflects the rising internationalisation of the Chinese renminbi currency worldwide.
Standard Chartered and Clearstream have implemented a new service to help customers in Singapore make more efficient use of collateral, as tough new financial regulations drive investor fears of an impending collateral shortfall.
The Singapore challenge Singapore is an advanced economy that employs a variety of clearing and settlement systems. It needed to transform its payments infrastructure to offer instant interbank transfers. The core technology VocaLink could deliver a practical solution, Immediate Payments (IPS), and also offer practical support during the implementation and beyond. BCS could embed IPS […]
Cross-border low-value payments service provider Earthport, has opened a new payment route into China to support trade payments into the region.
Controversy over Sharia Law reached Hollywood recently as protesters boycotted the glamorous Beverly Hills Hotel over a tough new code introduced by the hotel’s owner, the Sheikh of Brunei. More prosaically, bankers remain divided over how best to respond to demand for Sharia-compliant banking.
A sustained rally in frontier markets is leading an expansion of size and liquidity as investors seek opportunities that are not available in the developed or emerging markets, according to a new report by research house Aite.
Hong Kong has become the second jurisdiction to sign up to use Swift’s Market Infrastructure Resiliency Service to improve operation of its real-time gross settlement system.
London and Singapore are fast closing the gap on Hong Kong in the race to become centres for offshore renminbi business and capitalise on Beijing’s ambition to make the RMB a global currency.
Europe now represents 10% of total Renminbi payments in value worldwide and is leading adoption beyond Asian countries, with four European countries in the top 10, excluding China and Hong Kong, according to Swift. Overall, the RMB strengthened its position as the seventh most used global payments currency and accounted for 1.57% of global payments.
As the global banks grapple with tides of regulation, fines, and a myriad of other post-crisis issues, local Asian institutions are tooling up and stepping in to fill the gaps.
Australian bank Westpac has signed up IBM to assist a major digital banking push in New Zealand. The bank plans to use IBM’s private cloud technology to build mobile services and social media presence.
Standard Chartered Bank’s New York business has been ordered to suspend US dollar clearing services to retail clients of the bank in Hong Kong, following an investigation by the New York State Department which determined its transaction monitoring system does not meet anti-money laundering requirements.
