Stock Exchange group Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) and Thomson Reuters announced today that they have signed an agreement for the creation of a new series of renminbi (RMB) indices.
The partnership will enable the parties to reach a broad community with indices.
The new index series provides benchmarks which reflect the development of the RMB's effective exchange rate against other major currencies. They are designed to be transparent, tradable and compliant with the International Organisation of Securities Commission's principles for financial benchmark governance and administration.
Commenting on the announcement, HKEX Chief Executive Charles Li said: “We are pleased to announce new benchmarks to support the internationalisation of RMB and Hong Kong's position as a key hub for connecting international and Mainland markets and their participants. Our RMB indices will serve as the basis for products to help investors manage currency risk, which will help maintain HKEX's leadership in introducing RMB products for the offshore market."
HKEX became a pioneer in RMB product development when it launched the world's first physically delivered RMB currency futures in September 2012, announcing only yesterday that it had received regulatory approval to offer four new RMB currency futures which are set to go live on May 30th, 2016.
Sanjeev Chatrath, Managing Director, Financial & Risk, Asia Pacific at Thomson Reuters, added: “Thomson Reuters and HKEX have a long-standing partnership which dates back to the formation of HKEX and has delivered a number of industry-leading solutions. We are pleased to further strengthen our relationship through the announcement of our new co-branded RMB index series.”
Thomson Reuters is centrally positioned in the global financial markets as an independent benchmark operator as well as an interbank primary market and dealer-to-client Liquidity provider for CNH (offshore RMB) transactions.
The partnership will enable the parties to reach a broad community with indices as well as helping market participants understand and capture opportunities that the RMB’s internationalisation presents at a time of increasing significance of RMB on the world stage.
