Mainland Chinese ship Piano Land could provide ‘cruises to nowhere’ in Hong Kong from July, sources saySINGAPORE: Six months after Hong Kong introduced equity index futures to make it easier for international investors to bet on Chinese stocks, Singapore still rules the market, although its Asian rival is making inroads.
Hong Kong’s entry is a threat to SGX in a key business for the South-East Asian bourse, where it had held a monopoly since 2006. Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd introduced its new A50 futures contract in October, tracking the MSCI China A 50 Connect Index. Singapore’s are linked to the FTSE China A50 gauge. The MSCI measure has dropped 16% this year, versus a 14% decline in its FTSE counterpart.
The average daily volume for the Hong Kong contracts in April was 19,795, according to the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd . That compares to 481,011 for Singapore, SGX data showed. The average daily notional value for the contracts that month was US$1.1bil in Hong Kong, compared with US$6.4bil for Singapore.
Meanwhile, HKEX allowed trading for some non-Hong Kong dollar denominated futures on public holidays in the city. Hong Kong’s contracts are still at an early stage, but HKEX is pleased they are being well-received, a spokesperson for the bourse said.