Ravi Chandran
CIMB Bank Singapore Partners With iSTOX To Expand Access To Private Capital Markets Through Distributed Ledger Technology
CIMB Bank Singapore signed an agreement to partner with ICHX Tech Pte Ltd (“ICHX”), operator of the next generation capital markets platform iSTOX (“iSTOX”) today.
The partnership will allow CIMB Bank Singapore clients in the ASEAN region access to a faster, more flexible and efficient way to raise funds at a lower cost.
iSTOX is the first regulated capital markets platform in any major financial centre to support the one-stop issuance, custody and secondary trading of digitised securities. Drawing on the power of advanced smart contract and distributed ledger technology to streamline the issuance and trading process, iSTOX brings private capital markets into the 21st century. By allowing investors and issuers to connect directly, iSTOX removes longstanding barriers that have prevented a far greater pool of investors from access to private capital markets opportunity.
iSTOX is a future-ready capital markets platform set to usher in a new era for capital fundraising and investment. Through the use of digitised security offerings, iSTOX offers a more innovative, flexible, inclusive, and efficient system for an emerging generation of investors and issuers. As part of its mission, iSTOX seeks to enable investors and issuers to transact precisely as and how they like and extends capital markets access to a wider segment of the community. iSTOX is owned by ICHX.
ICHX is a capital markets infrastructure and technology company on a mission to redefine capital fundraising and investment in the 21st century. An incubatee of ICH Group, a leading Singapore-based investment firm, ICHX draws on world class expertise in fintech, fund management, investment, and corporate advisory. ICHX is authorized by MAS as a recognised market operator (RMO). It also holds a capital markets services licence (CMS) for dealing in capital markets products and providing custodial services.
Danny Toe, Founder and CEO of ICHX, said: “We’ve built iSTOX as a more accessible, flexible, and efficient improvement to the current outdated model of private capital markets. While the digital revolution has radically altered industries ranging from avionics to media, the underlying infrastructure of private capital markets really hasn’t changed much since the advent of electronic trading decades ago. We believe that iSTOX will change this paradigm and redefine what investing can mean.”
“We are pleased with this partnership to provide our clients with an alternative digital solution as digitisation is one of the pillars that we are looking at to build aggressively within the bank in the next few years,” shared Victor Lee, CEO of CIMB Bank Singapore.
Key investors of ICHX include Singapore Exchange (SGX); Heliconia (a subsidiary of Temasek Holdings); Japan’s Tokai Tokyo Financial Holdings (via subsidiary Tokai Tokyo Global Investments); Thailand’s Kiatnakin Phatra Financial Group; and South Korea’s Hanwha Asset Management.
CIMB Group is one of ASEAN’s leading universal banking groups and is Malaysia’s second largest financial services provider, by assets. It offers consumer banking, commercial banking, investment banking, Islamic banking and asset management products and services. Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, the Group is present in all 10 ASEAN nations (Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Brunei, Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos and Philippines). Beyond ASEAN, the Group has market presence in China, Hong Kong, India, Sri Lanka, Korea, the US and UK.
CIMB Group has the most extensive retail branch network in ASEAN approximately of 740 branches as at 30 June 2019. CIMB Group’s investment banking arm is also one of the largest Asia Pacific-based investment banks, offering amongst the most comprehensive research coverage around of 600 stocks in the region.
CIMB Group operates its business through three main brand entities, CIMB Bank, CIMB Investment Bank and CIMB Islamic. CIMB Group is also the 92.5% shareholder of Bank CIMB Niaga in Indonesia, and 94.8% shareholder of CIMB Thai in Thailand.
CIMB Group is listed on Bursa Malaysia via CIMB Group Holdings Berhad. It had a market capitalisation of approximately RM52.3 billion as at 30 June 2019. The Group has around 36,000 employees located in 16 countries.
A few days ago, United Overseas Bank (UOB) announced that its Wealth Advisers have intensified support to their clients as part of a Bank-wide #UnitedforYou effort to help people grappling with the impact of COVID-19. As markets continue to fluctuate and economies stall due to COVID-19, UOB’s more than 500 Wealth Advisers have been proactively calling Wealth Banking and Privilege Banking clients to review their investment portfolios.
During these discussions, UOB continues to advocate its risk-first approach to ensure investors understand the risks of an investment ahead of any potential returns. Since mid-March, the Bank has seen a 70 per cent increase in portfolio reviews , compared with those completed between January and mid-March.
As part of keeping clients informed on risks and opportunities given fluid market conditions, UOB has also increased the investment insight reports it provides to clients. The reports contain information such as the Bank’s views on future market moves and recommended investment strategies. In March and April, six advisory videos and written reports providing advice from UOB’s investment advisory team were sent to clients addressing investment opportunities during the time of COVID-19.
UOB’s COVID-19-related video updates have attracted the highest viewership to date, with nearly four times the usual view rate when compared with past UOB investment and advisory videos, reflecting investor demand for trusted advice in a period of significant market uncertainty. This higher interest in investment information is also reflected in Google Trends data which shows a 67 per cent increase in Singapore for investing-related searches since March 2020.
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UOB is also seeing an increased demand for online investment opportunities, with the purchasing of investment products online up 406 per cent in the first quarter of 2020, compared with a year ago. The strongest demand has been for gold and unit trust products , as investors seek defensive and diversified assets.
