Thomson Reuters and Hong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEx) launched a series of renminbi indices that measure the intraday performance of the Chinese currency against China’s most important and relevant trading partner currencies. The indices measure the performance of the renminbi against a basket of key currencies.
The primary index measures the performance of CNH against a basket of 14 key currencies. The weight of each currency is determined by calculating the volume of trade between its issuer and mainland China.
The new index series is designed for market monitoring, tradeable futures & options, ETF and structured products, according to Thomson Reuters and HKEx.
“At a time when Chinese currency movements and market volatility can be observed, it makes sense for independent names to launch these indices to capitalize on the significance of renminbi’s internationalization,” Stephan Flagel, global head of indices at Thomson Reuters.
“This co-branded index series is another important addition to our infrastructure for RMB products,” said Charles Li, CEO of HKEx. “As Chinese capital goes global over the next 30 years and more international equities and commodities are priced in RMB, our RMB indices will become a useful basis for products to help investors manage currency risk.”
Li adds he sees great opportunities in the fixed income and currency space for Hong Kong and HKEx, as the renminbi continues to become more international. “We continue to strengthen HKEx's leadership in introducing RMB products for the offshore market and develop Hong Kong as the global asset pricing centre for China,” Li added.
Currently 180 countries are using renminbi and 32 central banks invest in the currency.
“Renminbi internationalization is an ongoing process. Other offshore centres also take a strong role, but the renminbi is still relatively small in the world ranking. So there is a lot of growth everywhere,” says Julien Martin, head of fixed income & currency development, global market, HKEx.
