The Singapore Exchange (SGX) has launched SGX Bond Pro, the group’s first over-the-counter (OTC) trading venue specifically geared towards Asian bonds, which is supported by TradingScreen's Galaxy global fixed income platform infrastructure, according to an SGX statement.
TradingScreen is an independent provider of several financial services, including Liquidity management, trading, and investment technology. SGX has a preexisting relationship with TradingScreen after its SaaS was selected by SGX’s Bond Pro technology platform back in 2014 – since then the platform has helped provide infrastructure in SaaS and as an implemented application.
SGX Bond Pro performs a number of important tasks for buyers and sellers of Asian bonds and fixed income, aiming to provide clients with a plethora of trading protocols dependent on liquidity needs.
In addition, SGX Bond Pro also boasts a comprehensive set of tools for accessing liquidity via auctions, crossing, RFQ and RFS, adapted to the liquidity reality of the broader fixed income market. More specifically, all market participants will be granted access to the new venue through multiple interfaces such as FIX API .
According to Muthukrishnan Ramaswami, President of SGX, in a recent statement on the launch: "SGX Bond Pro is indicative of our strategy to innovate and build infrastructure where there is a clear market demand. It also demonstrates our ability to develop solutions that address the liquidity challenge in the Asian bond market.”
“We continue to receive positive feedback from the market and we hope that a strong community will anchor itself around this innovative platform. The partnership with TradingScreen has offered SGX the opportunity to offer a world class trading venue in record time," he noted.
"This launch is the start of a revolution in fixed income trading in Asia and represents a significant milestone in the fixed income market, as well as a technology breakthrough. The single trading model that the market has been using over the past decade has proved limited in handling the demands of the buy-side,” added Philippe Buhannic, CEO of TradingScreen, in an accompanying statement.
“In the future, liquidity management will become central to the market evolution and SGX Bond Pro has been launched as a significant liquidity solution. We are confident that both the buy and sell-side will be quick to recognize its unique value.”
SGX made headlines earlier this month when it announced a series of executive and structural changes to its organizational framework in a bid to help better service its clientele and foster higher efficiency measures. This included the dedicated focus of three new business lines, namely equities and fixed income, derivatives, and market data and connectivity (MDC). In addition, as a result of the new restructuring, SGX also will be seeing a consolidation of its offices in China, Hong Kong, India, Japan and UK into a single unified unit, dubbed Membership & International Coverage (MIC).
