Fixed Income & FX Leaders Summit APAC 2024 Blog

In this exclusive case study, Shamit Chokshi, Head of Offshore Fund Investments from ICICI Prudential AMC, shares his insights insights into the RBI's monetary policies, India's manufacturing-led growth, and the demographic dividend that fuels its economic resurgence. Don't miss this opportunity to unlock the potential of India's market.

In this exclusive Q&A with Massimiliano Bondurri, Founder & CEO of SGMC Capital, discover how to safeguard and enhance your portfolio. Explore strategies to capitalize on FX investment opportunities and mitigate risks in a dynamic economic climate. Learn about precious metals, potential debt crises, and the importance of monitoring market trends for informed investment decisions.

Emma Pringle, Head of ESG at Maple-Brown Abbott, speaks about all things ESG in finance, from how ESG (a non-financial component) can be integrated and used as a risk mitigation tool in investments, to the potential emerging markets brings when it comes to tackling sustainable development goals.

Danielle Teboul, Private Wealth Manager at Select Investors, shares about the importance of strategic financial planning, particularly on short-term market volatility.

Markus Thielen, Head of Research & Strategy of Cryptocurrency at Matrixport, shares about the future of blockchain in the finance industry, from the greater need for regulatory frameworks to the obstacles affecting the progress of blockchain adoption.

Simon Nursey, Head of Derivatives at QCP Capital, talks about the fast-paced crypto world, where time goes beyond the value of money. A safe space for liquidity, heightened security with the addition of regulations and regulated entities, scalable technology where there's nearly no limit, can crypto be your secret weapon?

In the ever-evolving landscape of sustainable investing, the challenge of measuring impact in portfolios becomes even more pronounced when faced with a lack of consensus in regional taxonomies and a need of tailored analysis for EM sovereign bonds is needed. 

In this quickfire interview, Emma Pringle, Head of ESG at Maple-Brown Abbot highlights the key components of how you can gauge the impact of your portfolio and the key metrics to measure the geopolitical impact on a portfolio. 

Dick Catlin, Head of Private Investments at Le Mercier's Capital talks about how the regulatory landscape in Singapore is changing the scene, if all family offices are moving to risk off, and quickfire insights!

It's 2023, and companies are starting to focus on employee wellbeing, such as creating a fulfilling employee experience at work. In this exclusive Q&A with Leo Tay, Head of FX, Rates, and Derivatives Trading at ING, he gives tips on developing an inclusive culture, fostering cognitive diversity in the workplace.

In 2023, the global economy faced a whirlwind of challenges, from the Russia-Ukraine conflict to the US-China trade tensions and an impending US election. Unexpectedly, the US banking sector took a hit, with several major banks collapsing.

Until recently, most central banks held currency reserves in U.S. treasuries (around 59% of global foreign exchange reserves were in U.S. dollars), making it the world's largest and most liquid bond market and the most favoured currency choice for international trade.

China's finance sector is a dynamic and ever-evolving landscape shaped by various factors, including government policies, global economic conditions, and domestic market demands. Staying ahead of the curve of the latest finance trends in China is vital for businesses, investors, and individuals seeking to make critical, timely, and informed decisions. Here is a quick rundown of the latest trends in China’s finance sector that you need to know:

Digital assets have surged in popularity across Asia in recent years. According to a study conducted by Accenture, digital assets, including cryptocurrencies, crypto investment funds, and asset-backed tokens have emerged as one of the top five holdings for affluent investors in the region. This growing interest in digital assets highlights the potential of this asset class in Asia.

A Partner & Co-CIO at Premier Partners, Laura Lui has managed to build up a strong expertise in ETFs products for the Asian markets. In this interview, she is hopeful of the recovery of the Asian credit market with foreign investments returning to the region. Laura predicts that more investors will enter the bonds market via ETFs, given the higher interest rates. In particular, Asian investors are likely to invest in the growth sectors such as the green economy, robotics and automation.

Considering the scandals and drop in Credit Suisse’s stock price, access to liquidity for investors became a key concern. Alex Manakyan, Global Head of FX & PM Trading at Credit Suisse tells us about the strategies the bank has put in place such as their new initiative, weekend pricing. We also learn how they sought to use AI in trading, to schedule trades and reduce market impact. The diversification and exposure to products are proving to be highly value-adding for customers – learn more!

The China reopening story is fast becoming the most important trading theme in emerging markets. Gordon Tsui, Managing Director & Head of Fixed Income at Ping Asset Management addresses the upcoming China opportunity, sharing about the many capital market developments in China and how this paves the way for investors into China’s Onshore Market. On market deregulation, he tells us why this will help investors warm up greatly to the Chinese market and why this can be more reflective of global GDP growth generation.

Cici is the founder of Venn Link Partners, a consultancy firm that bridges traditional finance to the Web3 space. Hear her thoughts on important fintech topics such as blockchain technologies and its benefits for ESG, decentralized finance and more. Cici believes strongly that now is the right time for financial services leaders to advance a digital assets strategy and gives examples of how both public and private blockchain can result in social impact and improve financial inclusion in a way which would otherwise not be possible.

In the current volatile financial landscape, traders NEED to react quickly, with automation being key. Laurent Ischi, product manager at Tradeweb, explains the key drivers for clients to embrace technology to streamline workflow. Rather than a “one-size-fits-all” approach, AiEX, the firm’s Automated Intelligent Execution tool, is customised to individual trading needs to suit each product’s unique requirements. Find out how the combination of increased efficiency with regulatory compliance while capitalising on new opportunities through faster reactivity to market conditions is bound to strengthen YOUR best execution analysis.

Maybank’s Regional Co-head of Fixed Income, Rachana Mehta observes that the Asian Credit market is still very illiquid, highlighting strongly the need to make better alpha to navigate the uncertainty in a polar and geopolitical world. While non-bank market makers are stepping up to warehouse risk, we see a shift away from quantity of flow towards quality of flow among traditional market makers. Find out the need for stringent AML and compliance policy where policymakers would do well to split the bond market into two; one for local bonds and one for Asian credits to reduce reliance on the Dollar Bond Market.

Mitul Kotecha, a well-known economist and head of emerging market strategy at TD Securities speaks of how much optimism foreign investors should price into a China reopening, and how monetary tightening by the FED is expected to impact bond markets in Asia. As we will drift in 2023 where inflation is high, China’s structural change brought upon by an aging population and lower productivity growth will lead into lower growth expectations. While China strives to maintain stability, learn how geopolitical considerations are likely to gain more weight in its outlook.

A full-service multi-asset class data provider, ICE is looking to deliver more mission-critical data and analytics solutions in 2023. Larry Rorrison, Head of Fixed Income Product shares the abundant opportunities in Asia such as alternative datasets regarding research, post-trade analytics, as well as pre-trade transparency. With the belief that their clients will see benefits from having a new data source at a lesser cost in real time, ICE is factoring in ESG data in the investment process, application of cloud technologies and transparency into the cryptocurrency market to be integrated seamlessly.

Bloomberg is the world's primary distributor of financial data in the 21st century. Chris Clodius, Global Head of Buyside Trade Automation talks about the significance of TCA for detecting issues with securities and order timings for traders looking to get an edge through technology. Find out how you can customise your trade while holding more control, integrating seamlessly with MiFID II requirements to ensure firms are compliant. Get onto the platform that offers more efficient workflows for creating, validating, back-testing strategies, and analyzing portfolios across asset classes to future proof the trading desk.

In this exclusive interview, James Cheo, Chief Investment Officer SEA, HSBC Global Private Banking and Wealth joins Joanne Murphy, Managing Director for Asia Pacific, Industry Relations from CAIA to highlight how traditional methods of portfolio allocation are a thing of the past and the future of the trading desk. He takes a deep dive into what investors seek and how they can allocate their investments amidst the geopolitical and socio-political scene in the ASEAN environment .

Watch the interview now

Singaporean award-winning trader, author and motivational speaker Karen Foo joins us for an chat where she shares FX trading tips needed to succeed in a fast-evolving market. Learn how to place a sharper focus on refining your trading techniques and increase knowledge of the markets and indicators. According to Karen, there are new avenues of growth for the FX scene and ways to discern when a trend has reached an extreme point and is prone to reverse its direction.

With over 26 years of global markets experience with some of the largest largest banks globally, including Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch and Citi we had the privilege of meeting with Sam Ahmed, DBS Treasury & Markets Group COO of DBS Bank. Sam is is well-versed in driving digital innovation using the latest technologies on the market and leading banks into the modern age of trading, involving both human and machine.In this interview, we discuss how DBS has adapted their trading desk in today's volatile market and the introduction of algorithmic trading’ and “Hyper personalisation” within DBS and much more. 

As the transition from physical to digital music progressed, more avenues for people to consume music apart from mainstream streaming services have popped up. Senior Advisor to GoDigitalMediaGroup, Kevin Gin, gives an in-depth analysis of this emerging asset class, how you can capitalise and the top factors preventing investors taking the plunge into this vastly promising opportunity in today’s world. Get exclusive data and look at how it has caught the eye of many who want to grow their worth and revenue stream!

Admidst a slowing global economy, Joevin Teo, Head of Investments for Singapore at Amundi shares what's driving their optimistic outlook, along with where they see opportunities in the space. Within Asia, a region containing both developed and emerging markets and a diverse range of bond markets, he presents how investors can find yield and raise capital, see value in the underlying trends that could drive future earnings in China equities and the integration of ESG factors into investment processes. 

In this quick-fire interview, Shamit Chokshi, Head of Offshore Fund Investments - International Business at ICICI Prudential AMS highlights support that digitalisation provides in the client life cycle and how finance professionals can go about finding their way in the post-pandemic world. He also explores the contrast of the gaps in the emerging markets and how companies can integrate ESG as part of their investment process. 

The Asian international bond market has experienced significant growth with more investors interested in emerging markets in recent years. In this casual fireside chat with Mushtaq Kapasi, Managing Director and Chief Representative, APAC of the International Capital Market Association (ICMA), we find out how they help their members deal with execution, proprietary orders, and compliance with existing laws. Mushtaq takes us through the process of building sustainable data throughout the entire life cycle, support from fintech apps and his predictions of future trends in this conversation.

In this quick-fire interview, Cedric Rimaud, a Corporate Bonds and Green Finance Specialist for the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia Pacific highlights how to help countries access green debt capital markets and the initiatives to combat greenwashing. With 20+ year experience in the fund management industry, Cedric provides his insight into trends specific to the Asian market and the viability and profitability of Green Bonds in your investment portfolio

Bloomberg is a global leader in financial data, news and insights, the go-to place for analysis and market insights. In this exclusive interview, Nicholas Bean, Global Head of Electronic Trading at Bloomberg offers an in-depth analysis of how credit trading is evolving, opportunities on the horizon, the electronification of credit markets and how to achieve the best execution using the very latest technology.

The ongoing bear market in Asia and E.M. equities has great significance in terms of duration. In recent history, the current bear market is only second to the market following dot-com crash in February 2000 that lasted 929 days. A shift in the U.S. monetary policy and a peak in the strength of the U.S. dollar have historically been important in identifying a bottom in the Asian and E.M. equity bear markets.

However, since the end of the bear market in October 2008, changes in Chinese monetary policy and growth cycles have become more significant for both Asian and E.M. markets. Read on to find out what the emerging markets forecasts might be. 

Conversations around cryptocurrency and other digital assets have increased tremendously to their peak in 2021 when the digital asset industry experienced massive adoption. Well, what are digital assets and the factors that led to their rise? Digital assets are online representations of value that are independent of the government. Even though they're not accepted as money, they're recognized online as means of payment and as investment tools. Examples include; cryptocurrency and security tokens.

Read the blog to find out what the future of cryptocurrency will be and the implications of cryptocurrency adoption 

It’s time to face the future. We are living in an increasingly digitized world with the growth of automation in Asia‑Pacific fixed income trading rapidly rising.

In this blog, we explore the technological changes and advances that have driven key industry shifts over the last few years, how the role of traders is changing in response and what the future of electronification looks like in the long term.

This year brought advancement in the electronification of primary markets, which until recently primarily relied on legacy systems. The introduction of new technology allowed firms to trade new issues electronically, simplifying both workflows and disseminating new issue data. It is the first step in achieving what the market desires, a complete, end-to-end solution between asset managers, their order management system (OMS), and syndicate banks, from issuance to pricing and final allocation.

In Asia, it took five quarters to the end of 2021 for electronic trading of US treasury to grow from 12% to 26%; it took three years, between 2017 and 2020, to achieve the same growth rate in the London market.

Interest rates have increased around the world to combat the rise of inflation. With economies slowing in North America, Europe and Asia, investors are now looking into more secure investments with favorable returns, while putting environmentalism as the main requirement. Many parts of the world have or are going through unprecedented events relating to weather, with Europe experiencing heat waves and wildfires in the past several years to rising ocean levels.

Investors are now recognizing that sustainability is an essential part of future growth and as a result, are keener on preserving what we have now. Climate change is already being felt in economies and financial markets around the world, with severe negative impacts to investor portfolios. Many investors are trying to find alternatives to devastating weather events, high inflation rates, increased interest rates and an equilibrium of risk versus reward. Investing in ESG securities has been the balance countless of investors have been looking for. 

Read the blog now 

BlackRock was the first to launch a U.S.-domiciled bond ETFs in July 2002. A movement that began with four iShares bond ETFs then exploded into $1.7 trillion in assets under management (AUM) and more than 1,400 products around the world.

In this interview, Darren explains why ETFs have reshaped the world of fixed income investing, the trends propelling fixed income ETF adoption, electronification in connection to ETF trading and must-know considerations to take into account when using sustainable fixed income ETFs.

In this EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW ahead of our Fixed Income Asia - Magnus Cattan, Vice President of ICE Fixed Income & Data Services, Asia Pacific shares his industry predictions, how tech innovation is driving growth, efficiency and participation in the market and the relationship between man and machine. ICE is the tech behind the New York Stock Exchange and ICE Futures - Magnus has the insider view on what’s to come and why.

The Global COVID19 pandemic changed how we work and do business. There were significant challenges in the finance, banking, and insurance industries that required adaptation and creative problem-solving.

But there were also some exciting opportunities that emerged from the crisis. We invited an expert panel of speakers to join us in discussing the lessons learned from a global pandemic.

The panelists included: Sam Ahmed, Managing Director & COO Treasury & Markets, DBS Bank; Sam Kim, MD & Director Portfolio Execution Group, GIC; Chunyen Liu, Chief Investment Officer, AIA Singapore; Rohit Verma, Head of Asia Pacific, LCH; and Dr Frederick Shen Chong, Head Global Treasury Business Management, OCBC Bank Together they discussed the question: How can you adapt your people, processes, and technologies to better navigate uncertain markets and regulatory changes in 2021 and beyond?

The rate of adoption in automation technologies has skyrocketed with institutions of all sizes leveraging automation technologies. But as technology has changed, so has the role of the trader and the industry as a whole. Here, we look at the catalysts for adoption, the most popular markets for automation in Asia and the impact on traders and what this means for their future.

Despite being high-risk and unregulated - has the time for ignoring digital assets passed? Or should financial institutions begin integrating them into their business operations? A panel of experts sat down to discuss this very question. They panel included: Rana Dasgupta, MD & Head Global Markets Structuring, Asia ex-Japan, Nomura; Eric Neo Say Wei, Founder & Chairman, Neo & Partners Global and President Hg Exchange; Darius Sit, Managing Partner, QCP Capital; Cici Lu, Managing Partner (Asia), Apollo Capital; and Phillip Gillespie, Co-CEO, B2C2.

We had the enlightening opportunity to interview Aly Madhavji, Managing Partner at Blockchain Founders Fund, where we dive into the company's focus within the buzzing crypto market and the blockchain ecosystem including its innovations, shortcomings and mainstream adoption.

In light of the upcoming Fixed Income & FX Leaders Summit APAC, Joanne Murphy from CAIA Association interviews Eric Neo Say Wei, Founder & Chairman of Neo & Partners Global and President of HG Exchange (HGX). Watch to learn more about HGX's graduation from the MAS Fintech Regulatory Sandbox, how HGX is attracting more global companies and investors to the platform, and the role of convergence in organisations.

Ahead of the upcoming Fixed Income Leaders Summit APAC on 29th-30th September, we interviewed one of our event speakers, Ricco Zhang, Senior Director APAC at ICMA. Zhang shares the top three reasons why China bonds are appealing, and the impact they may have on global investors. 

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) metrics have become an increasingly important topic for investors, many of which will actively seek companies with ESG scores aligning to their personal values, or scoring highly overall. This blog discusses ESG in Asia, which has been historically slow on the uptake, and the drive for ESG investment opportunities moving forward.

Since the signing of The United Nations Paris Agreement on climate change way back in 2015, countries all over the world – excepting the USA which withdrew from the accord under the leadership of 45th President Donald Trump – have been working towards the green targets set out in the legally binding document. One only need look at the news to fully understand the devastating effect manmade climate change is beginning to have on our planet. From the Swedish mountain which is shrinking by two meters per year, to the wildfires which have ravaged California, Europe, and Australia, it feels like nature is hitting back at mankind in a big way. And all the best experts predict this is only the beginning. However, all is not doom and gloom. The latest reports from the IPCC and the UN state that, while the situation is dire, there is still time to mitigate the worst effects of climate change. If we act now, we may have a chance to halt or even reverse the damage.

In the run up to Fixed Income and FX Leaders Summit APAC, we managed to speak with Jeremy Son, Vice President - Fixed Income Trading at AllianceBernstein. He shares with us on the topic of Fixed Income Algos in a bid to enhance traditional trading and workflow. Ultimately, the fixed income desk of the future is about data and automation to bridge the gap between asset classes, desks and ecosystems.

In today’s low interest rate environment, generating positive returns in a core fixed income portfolio is more challenging than ever. Traditional government bonds struggle to deliver results of the past, leaving investors to take on more risk to get the returns they need. Investors require a different approach to these challenges. How can you navigate the current environment to overcome the low interest rates, mitigate risks and find opportunities to get the returns you need? These are issues that we’ll be exploring in this article.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has imposed significant challenges on the world at large, China’s capital markets -- and the debt capital market in particular -- have been faring pretty well. As the volume of negative interest rate bonds around the world continues to set new records, how can you exploit opportunities in China’s high yield bond market?

Based on its success in the cryptocurrency market and some limited applications in other sectors, block chain technology is being actively considered for deployment in fixed income and forex (FX) trading.

China currently boasts the world’s second largest economy based on GDP and is well poised to take pole position in the near future. China’s actual GDP Annual Growth Rate currently stands at 6.8%, and has enjoyed continuous growth for decades

Technologies like AI (artificial intelligence), machine learning (ML), and process automation have the potential to revolutionize fixed income trading.

As data proliferates, best execution practices and Trade Cost Analysis (TCA) present both challenges and opportunities to fixed income traders.

Investment in China is a hot ticket for the industry at the moment, and BlackRock is making sure it’s prepared for the opportunities and challenges of this exciting and emerging market.

State Street Global Advisors (SSGA) was launched to help investors face the future with increased confidence by helping them identify where growth is happening, understand key insights from large swathes of data, and better assess which functions are better outsourced.

Investors often lack the tools necessary to finance green growth initiatives in developing countries. International Finance Corporation (IFC), in partnership with Amundi, has addressed this issue with its successful green bond fund

At the Fixed Income Leaders Summit happening on 28th – 29th May 2019 at the Harbour Grand, Hong Kong, a panel of experts moderated by Brett Elvish, Director, Financial Viewpoint will be debating the wisdom of launching green bonds as a separate fund.