Asia Awards 2025: Best new product/service introduced over the last 12 months—Bloomberg

Overview

Launched in February 2025, Bloomberg’s Bond Connect Offshore RMB Bond Repo Trading Solution enables investors to electronically trade repos using bonds held under Northbound Bond Connect as collateral in Hong Kong. It is built on the connectivity between Bloomberg and the China Foreign Exchange Trade System (CFETS), addressing investors’ needs for efficient repo trading via the Bloomberg Terminal under the new arrangement, which provides investors with a liquidity managing tool using onshore renminbi (RMB) bonds.

The solution  

The platform facilitates electronic trading of offshore RMB bond repo agreements using Bond Connect bonds as collateral. Offshore investors can negotiate repo financing rates and execute transactions with designated Primary Liquidity Providers who serve as market-makers in Hong Kong via the Bloomberg Terminal. Authorized users submit requests for quotes (RFQs) for repo/reverse repo trades through Bloomberg’s electronic repo trading offering, Bolt Repo, with selected market-makers responding via the CFETS platform to complete transactions.

Secret sauce  

This solution is the first of its kind to facilitate e-trading of offshore RMB bond repos. It builds on connectivity between Bloomberg and CFETS, whose system is used by designated market-makers. It was launched on the first day of the Bond Connect offshore RMB repo business to provide investors with the option of repo e-trading with enhanced efficiency. It can pre-integrate into investors’ current workflows, along with a range of pre- and post-trade solutions.

Recent milestones

• Launched on February 10, 2025, the offering continues Bloomberg’s support for China’s financial market liberalization. Since 2019, Bloomberg has established connectivity with CFETS, offering solutions for key developments, including Northbound Bond Connect (2019), Southbound Bond Connect (2021), and Swap Connect (2023).
• Before the launch of the offshore repo solutions, the latest milestones included the Swap Connect solution launch in May 2023, followed by an upgrade in May 2024.

Future objectives

Repos are primarily traded through voice offshore, so Bloomberg’s immediate focus is to enhance its existing platform to help meet client demand for greater e-trading support. The firm is currently collaborating with CFETS to support contingent package-styled execution, which showcases the efficiency of e-trading workflow. Bloomberg is also looking forward to supporting offshore investors trading bond repos onshore if and when regulations further ease.

Why they won

Bloomberg’s win in the best new product/service introduced over the last 12 months category of this year’s WatersTechnology Asia Awards illustrates just how important innovation and listening to the market is to the New York-based data and technology giant. The firm has a proud history of innovation and identifying the market’s constantly evolving needs, of which its outstanding Bond Connect Offshore RMB Bond Repo Trading Solution is a good example. 

The service allows offshore investors across the Asia-Pacific region for the first time to negotiate repo financing rates and execute transactions with market-makers in Hong Kong from within the Bloomberg Terminal. The new offering is designed to integrate with users’ existing workflows, which increases straight-through processing of orders, while simultaneously decreasing manual intervention and therefore the possibility of introducing manual errors. Congratulations to Bloomberg on yet another win in WatersTechnology’s awards.