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February 8, 2021 - Singapore Exchange (SGX), Trumid and Hillhouse Capital have formed a joint venture, XinTru, to enhance liquidity and execution in the Asian bond market for global clients.
This partnership combines Trumid’s technology and fixed income expertise, SGX’s deep experience in Asian financial market infrastructure and electronic trading, and Hillhouse’s expertise and network in Asia and the financial services sector.
XinTru will launch and operate Trumid XT, an electronic bond trading platform powered by advanced technology and rich analytics. With an emphasis on domain-focused and intuitive product design, the platform will seamlessly fit into traders’ workflows. Trumid XT will connect the commercial footprint and liquidity from SGX’s Bond Pro and Trumid’s Market Center in the United States (US), to provide a robust network for trading of Asian fixed income.
Trumid XT will enhance international access to Asian bond markets, while also facilitating Asian investor participation in US and global emerging market credit. Asia’s fixed income market continues to expand on the back of economic growth and low interest rates, which have driven increases in corporate bond issuance and inflows to Asia-focused funds.
As Asia’s leading international fixed income marketplace, SGX is Asia’s most global bond venue with over 40% of Asia Pacific’s G3 currency issuances listed on the exchange. To date, SGX has listed over 6,600 listed securities by more than 1,600 issuers from 66 countries, with amounts issued of over US$2.2 trillion in 26 currencies. With Trumid XT’s launch, SGX Bond Pro’s diverse client base across Asia Pacific, UK, Europe and the Middle East will be able to connect seamlessly on one platform. Since its 2015 launch, SGX Bond Pro has built a diverse participant base that includes global and regional dealers, bank treasuries, wealth and asset managers, family offices and hedge funds.
Trumid has established a leadership position in electronic bond trading innovation since the company’s launch in 2015. Its bond trading and market intelligence platform in the US features unique trading protocols and a broad network of over 535 buy and sell side institutions. Trumid experienced exceptional growth in 2020, with trade volumes growing 374% year-over-year. The company differentiates itself through nimble technology and product expertise, with rapid technology release cycles to meet its clients’ needs.
XinTru’s independent management team includes Chief Revenue Officer Ben Falloon who brings 20 years of Asia fixed income experience and relationships, and Chief Operating Officer Mark Leahy who has significant experience building and operating capital markets businesses in the region.
Strategic Partnership To Elevate Bond Trading in Asia
SGX first invested in Trumid back in 2018 and subsequently joined Hillhouse Capital in another round of investment in 2019 when Hillhouse Capital took a minority stake in Trumid.
**Loh Boon Chye, Chief Executive Officer of SGX **said, “Our early investment in Trumid paved the way for this deeper collaboration to advance the overall bond market infrastructure in Asia. Leveraging our Asian network and our Bond Pro business, we are excited to partner with Trumid and Hillhouse to accelerate the digitalisation and realise the full potential of Asia’s bond trading markets. XinTru brings together the unique characteristics of the partners in a joint venture where the sum is much greater than the parts.
“Our upcoming platform, Trumid XT, is the missing link between Asian and US markets and will connect their respective liquidity pools in a transparent and efficient manner. Offering solutions that support the existing dealer-to-client market structure as well as investor-to-investor, Trumid XT will create network effects that can unlock significant opportunities in Asian bond trading markets for our clients.”
Mike Sobel, President of Trumid, said, “Our US experience demonstrates that built-for-purpose technology and workflow tools can transform the bond trading experience. Our US clients are excited to introduce their colleagues in Asia to the Trumid XT platform. With our partners, we look forward to adding value for our global client base and driving growth of electronic bond trading in Asia.”
Lei Zhang, Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Hillhouse, said, “We believe that Asian bond markets are ready for the next level of growth. Given Trumid’s success in developing a state-of-the-art bond trading platform in the US, together with SGX’s fixed income experience in Asia as well as Hillhouse’s network and operational expertise, Trumid XT promises to be an outstanding Asian corporate bond trading platform for the world.”
