BondsInAsia may add Singapore, Hong Kong futures to electronic trading

Web-based electronic trading platform BondsInAsia is hoping to add Singapore and Hong Kong futures to its product range in the medium-term, according to the platform’s chief executive, Albert Cobetto.

“We’ve done some research on [adding] other products and we would like to work with some of the exchanges to help develop futures markets in Asia,” Cobetto told RiskNews, adding that Hong Kong and Singapore would be the first markets to be added.

He warned, however, that “these things take six to nine months to develop, at least, so that’s the type of timeframe.”

Through its three franchises - BondsInSingapore, BondsInHongKong and G3BondsInAsia - BondsInAsia currently offers trading in Singapore government bonds, Hong Kong Exchange Fund notes and bills, and international bonds denominated in US dollars, yen and euros sold by Asian issuers.

Credit derivatives may be another product group further down the road, but Cobetto noted that “they’re hard to trade electronically because of different types of settlement conventions.”

BondsInAsia was set up in 2000 and went live in January this year. It has since absorbed its main electronic competitor, asiabondportal.com, and boasts total trading volumes on all three franchises worth $15 billion so far this year.

ABN Amro, Bank of America, Barclays Capital, BNP Paribas, Citigroup, Credit Suisse First Boston, DBS Bank, Deutsche Bank, Hang Seng Bank, HSBC, the Hong Kong Exchange, JP Morgan Chase, and Reuters are partners in the venture.