SFT Asia Handbook is live 31 March 2021UK Reporter: Drew Nicol
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The Securities Finance Times Asia Handbook 2021 is now available to read and download.
This year’s handbook is full of stories of optimism, hopeful that the 2020 disruption to securities finance markets is firmly in the rear-view mirror.
First and foremost are the new possibilities for foreign investors to engage in securities financing and short selling directly in China through its expanded qualified foreign institutional investor scheme.
Whether there will be a big bang of activity this year or if we will still be predicting China's imminent coming of age in 2022/3 is yet to be seen, but the path to further development of the onshore securities financing market is now clear.
Elsewhere, FIS and IHS Markit also turn a forensic eye on Asia Pacfic (APAC) to offer a data-driven round-up of the region’s progress and also place it in a global context.
Additionally, multiple contributors point to corporate actions and the return of dividends in 2021 as likely drivers of borrower demand. In addition, the belated repeal of the short selling ban in South Korea is also widely expected to bring an uplift to the region’s overall revenue.
Another recurring theme is the development of buy-side market participation which are increasingly sophisticated in their programme requirements and more closely resemble their peers in Europe and the US, according to J.P. Morgan.
Finally, APAC has not escaped the blossoming of environmental, social and governance as a hot topic for global financing markets.
The Pan Asia Securities Lending Association and its global partners are taking an active role in developing a version of sustainable financing that applies to APAC’s varied and specific needs and this handbook offers an in-depth update on everything that has happened in that arena to date.
With a slew of regional leaders contributing to the wisdom in these pages SFT hopes this handbook will act as an essential guide to those looking to explore the APAC region.
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