Bloomberg: Driving innovation across Apac

Bloomberg’s offshore RMB repo initiative won Best new product/service introduced over the last 12 months in this year’s WatersTechnology Asia Awards. Ashlesh Gosain discusses the initiative, and how the firm’s electronic trading offering is helping clients in the region address their various trading needs.

How did the offshore RMB repo initiative come about? Was it driven primarily by client demand, looking for more support, or did it stem from a market opportunity identified by Bloomberg? Specifically, how does it directly support investors looking to trade RMB repos in offshore markets? 

Ashlesh Gosain, Asia-Pacific (Apac) head of trading solutions, Bloomberg: Our repo trading solution was launched on February 10, 2025, when the Hong Kong Monetary Authority introduced the offshore RMB bond repo arrangements. This provides new financing and liquidity management tools for offshore investors who hold onshore RMB bonds under the Bond Connect market access scheme. This solution was developed in response to market opportunities and clients’ demands—Bloomberg received consistent feedback from investors expressing strong interest in participating in the RMB repo market.

Our solution enables offshore investors to electronically trade repos using a bond held under the Northbound Bond Connect as collateral in Hong Kong, while eligible investors can submit requests for quotation through Bloomberg’s electronic repo trading offering with designated market-makers. The solution can be pre-integrated into investors’ existing workflows, along with the range of pre- and post-trade solutions. This significantly enhances their workflow efficiencies and trading experiences.

The offshore RMB repo arrangement is the latest step in the opening-up of China’s financial markets, following such programs as Bond Connect and Swap Connect. Bloomberg has been a long-term technology partner in the development and expansion of these market access schemes. What is Bloomberg’s vision and commitment to supporting these connect programs, and what are the reasons behind Bloomberg’s investment in facilitating international investor access to China’s financial markets through these various initiatives? 

Ashlesh Gosain: The China Connect program has been a strategic investment for Bloomberg—it demonstrates our commitment and ability, along with that of our stakeholders, to build the financial infrastructure, but it also helps us play our key role as a connector. Connecting our global investors with China’s financial markets through cutting-edge technology has been at the forefront of Bloomberg’s commitment in the region.

In 2019, Bloomberg established connectivity with the China Foreign Exchange Trade System, providing solutions for key developments, including Northbound Bond Connect, Southbound Bond Connect, Swap Connect and, now, the repo trading facility. Our investment in these connect schemes reflects several key factors. Over the years, global investors have increased their participation in China’s financial markets. This trend has been driven by regulators’ efforts to ease [facilitate] market access and implement reforms, coupled with investors’ demands for asset diversification and the inclusion of Chinese assets in global indexes.

So the gradual opening-up of China’s financial markets required seamless connectivity between offshore and onshore trading platforms. This ensures transactions [can occur] without disrupting offshore investors’ existing workflows. Bloomberg is committed to bringing efficiency and transparency to markets by providing trusted data and reliable technology.

Beyond the connect schemes, how does Bloomberg’s electronic trading address capital markets firms’ various trading needs throughout the Apac region? 

Ashlesh Gosain: Bloomberg’s electronic trading offering in Apac is designed to meet the diverse needs of the market across asset classes, including fixed income, foreign exchange and equities. Through connectivity to Bloomberg’s vast network of brokers, dealers and liquidity providers—within Apac and globally—our solution enables market participants to access deep and diverse liquidity pools. This access is crucial for efficient price discovery and execution. We support various trading styles, such as algorithmic and portfolio trading, catering to institutional investors’ evolving preferences and strategies.

Bloomberg solutions are also designed for integration into existing clients’ workflows, providing a customized and automated solution that enhances efficiencies while reducing manual errors for traders and back-office/operations staff. Our competitive edge is rooted in our integrated suite of solutions, which combine data, analytics and execution capabilities. This, coupled with Bloomberg’s global reach, strong local presence and cutting-edge technology and innovation, allows us to deliver outstanding value to our clients.

Bloomberg has a reputation for driving innovation in the financial services industry and anticipating clients’ various needs. What areas does Bloomberg see as opportunities for continuing its innovation, and which markets do you think will show growth in the coming year? 

Ashlesh Gosain: Speaking about innovation in the electronic trading solutions business, Bloomberg’s focus has always been to utilize technology to enhance efficiency, reduce costs and provide deeper liquidity to clients across various asset classes. We have delivered advanced automation features across asset classes, such as the exchange-traded fund strategy optimizer and expansion of our market-on-close trading offering to include US treasuries. We also recently launched US Treasury dealer algos, which provide buy-side clients with access to liquidity pools that traditionally were only available on dealer-to-dealer trading platforms.

Bloomberg has always believed in providing data insights with multi-asset capabilities across multiple markets. Particularly in Asia, we are experiencing significant growth in electronic trading volumes, average trade sizes and active client participation. It’s fueled by investors’ interest, index inclusion and regulatory evolution. We are very excited about that and, as an electronic trading solutions provider, we are absolutely ready for it. 

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