Citi said it was appointed as the special segregated accounts (SPSA) custodian of Korea Securities Depository for the Shanghai-Hong Kong stock connect.

 

Korean investors, whose accumulated trading volume for the past six months reached US$5 billion, are one of the most active investor groups employing the stock connect scheme. SPSA are pre-trade checking model accounts used by participants to buy and sell shares in the stock connect scheme. 

 

Established in 1974, KSD is the sole central securities depository in Korea. KSD provides depository and settlement services for all types of securities traded in the Korean securities market. KSD also provides cross-border deposit and settlement services through foreign custodians for local Korean securities companies.

 

“This partnership is a great example for other markets’ infrastructures to facilitate local investors’ cross-border investments” says David Russell, regional head of securities services at Citi.

 

“This partnership will provide a good platform for facilitating cross-border investment flow from Korea to China A-share market and enable local brokers in Korea to transact using different China Connect brokers.  KSD will also be able to better safeguard Korean investors’ investment in A-shares,” says Jaehoon Yoo, chairman and CEO of KSD.