BNP Paribas today announced it has been named a market maker for the Southbound leg of the China-Hong Kong Bond Connect Scheme, which officially launched today in Hong Kong. The first step in a move to open Hong Kong’s bond market to Chinese mainland investors, Southbound Bond Connect simplifies access and should encourage further liberalisation.
Since Bond Connect’s Northbound route first launched in July 2017, China’s bond market has taken over from Japan as the world’s second largest behind that of the United States. Foreign participation in China’s domestic market has more than doubled during this period, alongside the inclusion of Chinese bonds in major global indices.
“Today’s launch of Southbound Connect for CNH bonds demonstrates China’s commitment to an orderly opening of its outbound investment markets and gives confidence that further reform should soon follow,” said Richard Cohen, Head of Primary & Credit Markets at BNP Paribas.
“BNP Paribas has been one of the most active international banks acting as market maker in the Northbound BondConnect and Direct CIBM programs, and now we are pleased to be among the first batch of market makers in Southbound BondConnect,” said George Sun, Head of Greater China, Global Capital at BNP Paribas.
The Bond Connect Scheme complements the existing QDII system to govern Chinese overseas investments. It is expected to smooth and streamline access to the Hong Kong market for Chinese domestic investors.
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Jackie WANG jackiez.wang@asia.bnpparibas.com +86 (21) 2896 2960
BNP Paribas today announced it has been granted a licence to provide custody services for China’s Qualified Foreign Investor (QFI) scheme, effective immediately. This means BNP Paribas can now directly support foreign institutional investors across the full scope of schemes allowing access to China’s equities and bond markets, in addition to providing a full range of foreign exchange services.
BNP Paribas China Limited was one of the first foreign banks to be granted a bond settlement agent licence for the China Interbank Bond Market (CIBM) in 2016. BNP Paribas Securities Services Hong Kong also facilitates participation, via a special segregated account, in China’s Stock Connect schemes, as well as Bond Connect through its membership of the HKMA Central Moneymarkets Unit.
CG Lai, Chief Executive Officer, BNP Paribas China Limited said: “This newest QFI licence complements our cross-border product offering and will help to attract even more foreign investment into China’s bond and equity markets, which are fast becoming amongst the most important markets globally. BNP Paribas is undoubtedly one of the best-positioned foreign banks to support institutional investors in the China market.”
Philippe Kerdoncuff, Head of BNP Paribas Securities Services, China said: “As constraints on foreign participation in China’s markets abate, we expect a wave of renewed interest from offshore institutional investors. The licence also closely follows the removal of quotas and expansion of scope for investments under the QFI scheme, making this an exciting time for new entrants to the onshore custody space.”
BNP Paribas Securities Services has a global and multi-local offering, underpinned by a proprietary network of 27 markets and a global reach covering more than 90 markets.
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Jackie WANG jackiez.wang@asia.bnpparibas.com +86 (21) 2896 2960
BNP Paribas today announced it will donate RMB 2 million (USD 287,000) to support the fight against novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) and purchase much-needed medical supplies for areas in China’s Hubei Province.
Paul Yang, Chairman of BNP Paribas China Ltd, and Head of Corporate & Institutional Banking (CIB) for BNP Paribas in Asia Pacific, said: “We stand ready to help in any way we can to support the authorities in preventing the spread of this new infectious disease. We sincerely thank the courageous medical staff and volunteers who are supporting those in need and helping to resolve this situation for the good of all in China and beyond.”
BNP Paribas will donate RMB 1 million to our existing partner, Shanghai United Foundation, through which funds are being raised to help purchase urgently needed medical supplies for areas in Hubei. A further RMB 700,000 will be directed towards helping medical personnel. In addition, BNP Paribas will donate RMB 300,000 to Beijing Qingyou Social Welfare Development Centre, an existing NGO partner in China, where the bank’s staff are already volunteering to provide assistance sourcing medical supplies.
BNP Paribas’ presence in China dates back to 1860. Today, BNP Paribas provides wholesale banking, financing, market making and advisory services via its fully-owned subsidiary, BNP Paribas China Ltd, headquartered in Shanghai.
This donation comes in addition to the various initiatives already announced by BNP Paribas’ major partners in China, notably Bank of Nanjing, as well as Geely Group, Haitong Securities, and Bank of Beijing.
BNP Paribas China Ltd has become the first foreign bank to underwrite an onshore corporate bond issued by a Chinese domestic issuer in the China market, after being awarded the Type-A Corporate Bond Lead Underwriting Licence in September this year.
BNP Paribas China Ltd acted as a joint lead underwriter for China Universal Leasing Co. Ltd’s RMB 500 million bond, issued on December 9. The super short-term commercial paper marks the first time a foreign financial institution has worked with a domestic player to issue in the world’s second-biggest market.
CG Lai, CEO of BNP Paribas China Ltd, said: “We are honored to become the first foreign bank to underwrite a bond issued by a Chinese domestic company, underscoring our consistent commitment to China. As a fully-licenced bank, BNP Paribas brings the strength of our comprehensive onshore expertise to continually help more foreign investors navigate China’s market and deepen our engagement in China’s domestic financial market to help our clients achieve their long-term business ambitions.”
George Sun, Head of Global Markets for Greater China, said: ”We are pleased to successfully complete this deal and we will look into more opportunities that can help both onshore and offshore clients tap into the growing potential of China’s domestic bond market. ”
BNP Paribas China Ltd was granted a Type-A licence, allowing it to lead underwrite domestic corporate debt from Chinese companies, from China’s National Association of Financial Market Institutional Investors in September. Previously, BNP Paribas China was awarded the Type B licence in December of 2018.
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Ayesha de Kretser +852 2108 5458 ayesha.dekretser@asia.bnpparibas.com
BNP Paribas (China) Limited and LianLian Yintong Electronic Payment Co., Ltd (LianLian Pay) have signed an agreement to provide an integrated collections solution for e-commerce businesses in China. The solution streamlines the collections process by consolidating online sales and offline mobile collections onto a single platform.
With the adoption of e-commerce and the growing prominence of digital as a payments channel, China, is already the world’s largest market for mobile payments[1], and it’s expected to see total cashless payments reach USD 45 trillion by 2021[2]. As the trend continues to grow, consumers, sellers and suppliers are increasingly asking for safer, faster and more reliable platform technology which can also connect them to a global financial network.
Under this partnership, BNP Paribas (China) and LianLian Pay have jointly developed a digital ecosystem to meet the evolving needs of corporate treasurers with innovative solutions. It furthers BNP Paribas’ strategy to simplify and speed up banking operations through innovative services such as digital applications and new payment methods.
CG Lai, CEO of BNP Paribas (China) Ltd, said: “Innovation is in our DNA. In China, we are continuously investing in cutting edge technology to deliver innovative solutions to clients. The strategic partnership with LianLian Pay, a leader in digital payments, will enrich our cash management service lineup, enabling us to meet the varying needs of emerging businesses which stand to benefit from China’s growing e-commerce market.”
Zuo Gang, senior vice president of LianLian Yintong Electronic Payment Co., Ltd., said: “We are very pleased to partner with BNP Paribas, a leading global bank with a strong international network. Our partnership will bridge Chinese digital know-how with the global market.
“Together, we can help our global corporate clients optimise their operations and explore new opportunities. Ultimately, our single-integrated platform will improve the e-commerce customer experience.”
Pierre Fersztand, Global Head of Cash Management, Trade and Payments, BNP Paribas, said: “This strategic partnership will allow LianLian Pay and BNP Paribas to combine our complementary expertise to effectively address payment and collection pain points in the new e-commerce era. Meanwhile, the data emerging from an integrated e-commerce collection channel will provide invaluable insights to companies in their strategic decision making process.”
In recent years, BNP Paribas has been actively undertaking digital transformation, adopting a variety of cooperation models with companies in the financial technology ecosystem in a bid to push the boundary of its products and services, responding to the needs of digital era more flexibly.
Founded in 2003, LianLian Yintong Electronic Payment Co., Ltd (Lianlian Pay) is one of the top mobile payment companies in China, the pioneer and leader of industry payment solutions, State Planning Key Software Enterprise and National High-tech Enterprise. LianLian Pay has been priding itself in focusing on and excelling at providing all-in-one payment solution in the form of CUP cards mobile payment, cross-border payment and settlement, RMB and foreign currency disbursement for tens of millions of individual customers and thousands of merchants and partners.
[1] Capgemini and BNP Paribas, World Payment Report 2018.
[2] Economic Times, Oct11 2017, In China, Cash is quickly becoming obsolete.
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Jackie Wang +86 21 2896 2960 jackiez.wang@asia.bnpparibas.com
On December 7, BNP Paribas China Limited received the Panda Corporate Bond Lead Underwriting Licence Type B from China’s National Association of Financial Market Institutional Investors.
The licence allows BNP Paribas China to act as a lead underwriter on renminbi-denominated bonds, also known as Panda Bonds, issued by foreign corporate issuers.
CG Lai, BNP Paribas China’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer, said: “The licence is significant as China continues to promote its domestic bond market. With the growing maturity of multi-national corporations’ operations onshore in China, foreign parent companies are increasingly seeking to tap the domestic bond market as an important and highly cost-effective source of RMB funding to support their Chinese expansion needs.”
“With this licence, BNP Paribas China can also help international issuers to tap the world’s largest RMB liquidity market for their offshore projects, which is key to promoting the RMB’s internationalisation,” said Mr Lai.
BNP Paribas is only the third international bank to receive such a licence. The bank was previously licenced to act as an advisor and syndicate member for corporate Panda Bonds, participating in issuances for a number of MNC clients as more foreign companies look to fund their onshore activities in China in RMB.
George Sun, Head of Global Markets for Greater China, said: “This senior underwriting licence will help us to attract more foreign issuer participation in China’s bond market. This will help widen the issuer pool beyond Chinese issuers, as well as increase inbound foreign investment. We see this as a significant step forward in China’s financial market liberalisation.”
BNP Paribas’ presence in China dates back to 1860 when it opened its first office in Shanghai. Today, with nearly 500 staff based in China, BNP Paribas provides banking, financing and advisory services via its Corporate & Institutional Banking and international financial services.
Under this regime, the firm would be the first to introduce an Environment, Social and Governance (‘ESG’)-related product to onshore clients.
Hong Kong – BNP Paribas Asset Management (‘AM’) today announced that its wholly foreign-owned enterprise (‘WFOE’), BNP Paribas Overseas Investment Fund Management (Shanghai) Co., Limited, has been granted a Qualified Domestic Limited Partner (‘QDLP’) qualification quota of US$50 million. The Shanghai-based QDLP programme allows global asset managers to raise funds from domestic investors in China to buy overseas traditional and alternative assets such as equities and real estate investment trusts.
In line with the enhanced focus from Mainland investors towards sustainable investing; which can be attributed in part to increased validation of the approach from the Chinese government and industry organizations, BNP Paribas AM is the first global fund manager with a QDLP quota to offer a fund geared towards ESG investments.
Commenting on the firm’s QDLP qualification, Ligia Torres, BNP Paribas AM Asia-Pacific Chief Executive Officer said, “China is a key growth market for BNP Paribas. Through this programme, qualified high net worth and institutional investors in China seeking to diversify their investments across an expanding range of asset classes and geographies can now access our global expertise as an investment solutions provider.”
Since 2004, BNP Paribas AM has provided its global clients with access to the Chinese market as one of the largest global Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor managers. On September 2014, BNP Paribas AM was granted one of the first RMB Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors licenses in France and Eurozone. The firm has since acquired RQFII licenses in Paris, Hong Kong and Korea. BNP Paribas AM obtained a 49% share in HFT Investment Management in 2003, and was one of the first joint venture fund management companies granted approval from China Securities Regulatory Commission to provide Chinese local financial products to onshore investors. To facilitate the launch of the QDLP program, BNP Paribas AM established its WFOE in December 2014 and is among the first group of global asset management WFOEs operating in the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone.
BNP Paribas, Europe’s leading bank for Cash Management, is introducing WeChat Pay a popular mobile payment solution in China, to retailers in France and subsequently across Europe, thus underlining its determination to support retail sector clients wishing to attract Chinese customers.
A ‘first’ in Europe, the WeChat Pay solution is being initially rolled out at the two Paris flagship stores owned by the Galeries Lafayette Group – Galeries Lafayette Haussmann and BHV MARAIS starting from 25th of September.
Every year, close to 7.4 million Chinese tourists visit Europe. With WeChat Pay, BNP Paribas is pursuing its policy of innovating so as to enable retail chains to offer their international clientele a more streamlined shopping experience. Used today by over 600 million Chinese consumers, the WeChat Pay mobile payment solution constitutes an additional powerful tool for retailers wishing to attract – and win the loyalty of – Chinese consumers travelling abroad.
Pierre Fersztand, Global Head of Cash Management at BNP Paribas, underlined: “We’re delighted to be working with the Galeries Lafayette Group to deploy the WeChat Pay solution. Once again, BNP Paribas is demonstrating its ability to innovate and to help our clients roll out their own innovations. We’re now offering the most comprehensive range of payment solutions on the market aimed at the Chinese customers of our retail sector clients.”
BNP Paribas has received top recognition in several categories in the 2017 Greenwich Quality Leader & Excellence Awards for Asian Large Corporate Trade Finance, recognising the Bank’s capability in traditional trade, commodity trade and supply chain finance in the region.
Based on interviews conducted from April to June in 2017 with 578 large Asian corporates (Asia-based and foreign subsidiaries) with annual revenues of US$500 million or more across China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam, BNP Paribas was recognised in the following categories:
Greenwich Quality Leader
- #1 Quality Leader in Asian Large Corporate Trade Finance
- #1 Quality Leader in Large Corporate Trade Finance in China, South Korea, Singapore and Southeast Asia
Greenwich Excellence Awards
- Quality of Advice
- Speed of Error Correction
- Effectiveness in Reducing Paperwork
Greenwich Share Awards (market penetration)
- #3* in Asia
- #2* in Singapore
- #3* in Hong Kong
- #3 in Southeast Asia
BNP Paribas Head of Transaction Banking Asia Pacific, Wee Chye Kin said: “I’m particularly proud that we ranked number one in areas where that our clients cite directly as being important to their trade banking relationships – advisory capability, effectiveness in reducing paperwork and fixing errors quickly.
“We continue to work hard on improving our delivery to clients in Asia Pacific and within our extensive global network. Trade Finance is important to the real economy and our bank, so we are pleased by this recognition from our clients,” said Mr Wee.
* Tied
BNP Paribas has been awarded “RMB House of the year” by Asia Risk for the second time since 2015, recognising the Bank’s market-leading onshore and offshore RMB capabilities.
“We distinguish ourselves from the market as an RMB business leader by anticipating market developments and steadily investing in our diversified but integrated RMB platforms. BNP Paribas is well-positioned to embrace regulatory and market changes with our clients, and to develop innovative RMB solutions that best serve our clients’ needs in investment, financing, hedging, asset management and custodian services,” said Chen Bing, CEO of BNP Paribas (China) Limited
Asia Risk said being named a market-maker for the newly launched Bond Connect scheme and becoming a member of the China Foreign Exchange Trade System (CFETS) enables BNP Paribas to provide both onshore and offshore CNH forex hedging products to offshore clients engaged in Bond Connect, as well as the commercial import and export trade.
In January this year, BNP Paribas was extended the non-financial corporate bond underwriting licence by the National Association of Financial Institutional Investors to underwrite debt instruments for corporates in the China Interbank Bond Market. BNP Paribas is one of only a few of foreign banks to have the qualification to underwrite debt for both financial institutions and general corporates in China.