Clearstream and Euroclear appoint China Construction Bank (Asia) as common depository for Eurobonds
CCB (Asia) is expected to start its common depository service operations by mid-2020.
International central securities depositories (ICSDs) Clearstream Banking S.A. and Euroclear Bank SA/NV today announce the appointment of China Construction Bank (Asia) Corporation Limited (CCB (Asia)) as common depository, safekeeper and service provider for their international debt securities, also known as Eurobonds.
Clearstream and Euroclear act jointly as the central hub of issuance and deposit for Eurobonds. They work with a number of large financial institutions acting as common depositories to support issuers across the globe. As a result, issuers benefit from greater investor reach by leveraging the ICSDs’ international client bases and multi-currency model. This international issuance model is supported by an interoperable link allowing clients to settle cross-border transactions seamlessly throughout the day, thereby increasing the liquidity available to market participants.
CCB (Asia)’s Transaction Banking specialises in all aspects of Corporate Trust, Private Trust, Fund Trust, Loan Agency, Custody and Fund Administration businesses. The business offers comprehensive and customised agency and fiduciary solutions to support the full spectrum of capital market, asset management and fund industry transactions.
CCB (Asia) applied to, and successfully passed, the recent common depository qualification process and will be appointed as common depository, safe-keeper and service provider to support the ICSDs’ global Eurobonds issuance model. CCB (Asia) is set to commence its common depository service operations by mid-2020.
Leveraging Asian operations of common depositories facilitates primary market activities, including syndicated distributions, from the start of the business day in Asian markets allowing more efficient use of cash and securities. Also, it allows a closer connection to the APAC issuance and investor communities for a more efficient servicing of the securities throughout their life cycle.
Alan Lai, Head of Transaction Banking at China Construction Bank (Asia) commented: “CCB (Asia)’s aim is to broaden the Eurobond market to reach more APAC market participants – especially new issuers and investors from the People’s Republic of China. As a leading PRC bank, we are ideally placed to leverage our brand and network to better serve PRC market participants in the same language and time zone. We are honored to be the first PRC bank appointed as common depositary and we look forward to a successful partnership with the ICSDs.”
