Overview
ICMA’s rapidly growing Asia-Pacific membership includes around 90 institutions from various jurisdictions, including Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Macau, Malaysia, Mongolia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, and Taiwan. ICMA has served members in the region since the 1970s and established its representative office in Hong Kong in 2013.
In Asia-Pacific, ICMA is regarded as the market-leading association in debt capital market and sustainable finance, a key partner to policymakers and banks, and an authority on understanding of international regulation development. ICMA works closely with its members and also central banks, regulators, trade bodies and government authorities to support robust development of capital markets in the region.
Supporting members & markets
Activities are focused on ICMA’s global experience and expertise in three core areas of fixed income markets: primary markets; secondary markets; and repo and collateral markets; and cross-cutting themes of sustainable finance and FinTech and digitalisation.
Primary markets
ICMA facilitates two formal debt primary market committees specifically for the region, the ICMA Asia Pacific Bond Syndicate Forum (ABSF) and the ICMA Asia Pacific Legal & Documentation Forum (ALDF), which shape cross-border primary market practices in Asia and provide Asian perspectives on international regulation and practice.
Consultation responses
11 December 2023: ICMA response to HK SFC Consultation Paper on the Proposed Guidelines for Market Soundings
23 September 2022: ICMA response to NDRC Consultation on the Administrative Measures for the Review and Registration of Medium- and Long-Term Foreign Debt of Enterprises (in Chinese)
15 February 2022: ICMA response to Monetary Authority of Singapore Consultation Paper P020-2021 - Introduction of Due Diligence Requirements for Corporate Finance Advisers
7 May 2021: ICMA response to HK SFC consultation paper on the proposed code of conduct on bookbuilding and placing activities in the equity capital market and debt capital market
Following publication of the consultation conclusions in October 2021 we look forward to reviewing the amended Code in detail, and will convene our member firms to determine next steps in implementation for DCM.
7 February 2020: ICMA response to HKEX consultation: Review of Chapter 37 - Debt issues to professional investors only
Publications:
The Asian International Bond Markets: Developments and Trends* - ICMA supported by Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA).
- March 2024 (fourth edition) English version | Chinese version
- March 2023 (third edition) English version | Chinese version
- March 2022 (second edition) English version | Chinese version
- March 2021 (first edition) English version
*Summarised data on international bond issuances in Asia used in the 2024 report is available here.
24 September 2021: Panda Bonds: Raising Finance in China's Bond Market - ICMA and NAFMII
English version | Chinese version
5 December 2018: International practices of bond trustee arrangements - ICMA-NAFMII Working Group, 9th UK-China Economic and Finance Dialogue
19 October 2017: The Panda Bond Market and Perspectives of Foreign Issuers - ICMA-NAFMII Working Group, 8th UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue
English version | Chinese version
21 September 2015: Practices and procedures in the Chinese and international primary debt capital markets - ICMA-NAFMII Working Group, 6th UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue
English version | Bilingual version
Secondary markets
ICMA’s work in secondary market focuses on research and facilitating internationalisation of domestic markets. ICMA publishes research reports, sends regular market updates to secondary market contacts, and advises central banks and securities regulators on bond market development, infrastructure, and liquidity.
Regulatory responses:
16 December 2021: ICMA-ASIFMA joint response to SEBI Consultation Paper for Market Making in Corporate Bonds
Publications:
25 July 2024: Korean Treasury Bonds - An International perspective
24 September 2021: Investing in China's InterBank Bond Market: A Handbook, ICMA and NAFMII
14 January 2021: The Internationalization of the China Corporate Bond Market - ICMA
30 August 2018: The Asia-Pacific Cross-Border Corporate Bond Secondary Market - A report on the state and evolution of the market – ICMA
Repo and collateral markets
In the repo and collateral market, ICMA publishes GMRA legal opinions for Asia-Pacific markets and has undertaken strategic cooperation with other associations and stakeholders on research and advocacy. ICMA advises regulators and members on repo market matters, including close-out netting and triparty repo.
Publications:
ICMA Guides to Asia Pacific Repo Markets (ICMA members only access):
- Australia (open access)
- China
- Indonesia
- Japan (View Japanese version)
- Philippines
- South Korea
- Vietnam
Asia Pacific repo market surveys:
- 26 January 2024: 5th ICMA & ASIFMA survey - June 2023
- 5 December 2022: 4th ICMA & ASIFMA survey - June 2022
26 March 2024: Use of RMB-denominated Bonds as Collateral for Global Repo Transactions - A CCDC-ICMA Joint White Paper
English version | Chinese version
13 November 2020: ICMA SFTR checklist for non-European firms
Sustainable finance
ICMA continues to engage with and advise regulators, authorities and infrastructures in the region. ICMA is Secretariat for the Hong Kong Code of Conduct for ESG Ratings and Data Providers sponsored by the Securities and Futures Commission. ICMA also hosts the similar Singapore Code of Conduct for ESG Rating and Data Product Providers on its website.
ICMA is active in several working groups and advisory committees on sustainable finance in the region:
- Asia GX Consortium (organised by the Japan Financial Services Agency, ASEAN Capital Markets Forum, and the Asian Development Bank)
- ASEAN Industry Advisory Panel on Transition Finance
- Japan GX Acceleration Global Advisory Council
- Hong Kong Green Finance Association
- Singapore Sustainable Finance Association: Transition Finance and Taxonomies working groups
Asia-Pacific based members are represented on ICMA’s international committees, working groups and task forces, including the Principles Membership and Advisory Council, to ensure that global developments reflect the concerns of increasingly important Asia-Pacific markets.
ICMA’s publications and database of sustainable bonds also fully consider the market developments in Asia Pacific.
The principles and guidelines for green, social, sustainability and sustainability-linked bonds have been translated into several Asian languages.
Regulatory responses:
19 August 2022: ICMA response to SEBI Consultation Paper on Green and Blue Bonds as a mode of Sustainable Finance
23 June 2022: ICMA response to the second Singapore Green Finance Industry Taskforce (GFIT) taxonomy consultation
4 January 2022: ICMA response to the IPSF Common Ground Taxonomy Consultation
16 November 2021: ICMA response to the SEBI consultation paper on introducing disclosure norms for ESG Mutual Fund schemes
27 September 2021: ICMA response to SGX Consultation Paper on Climate and Diversity
11 March 2021: ICMA response to Singapore Green Finance Industry Taskforce (GFIT) taxonomy consultation
15 January 2021: ICMA's response to the SFC Consultation Paper on the Management and Disclosure of Climate-related Risks by Fund Managers
Publications:
October 2024: Hong Kong Code of Conduct for ESG Ratings and Data Products Providers
10 January 2023: White paper on ESG practices in China, January 2023
English version | Chinese version
18 May 2021: Overview and Recommendations for Sustainable Finance Taxonomies
20 November 2020: Closing the SDG Financing Gap in ASEAN - A Sustainable Finance Guide for Corporates, By UN Global Compact Network Singapore (GCNS) and Ernst and Young (EY), in contribution with ICMA, Arabesque and DBS
1 May 2020: Chinese translation of ICMA publication: Sustainable Finance: High-level definitions
1 February 2020: Sustainable finance: Compendium of international policy initiatives & best market practice - ICMA
March 2017: The practice and prospects for green bond market development at home and abroad - ICMA-NAFMII Working Group, 8th UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue (Members only)
English version | Chinese version
FinTech and digitalisation
ICMA forms part of the fixed income workstream of Project Guardian by the Monetary Authority of Singapore to develop protocols and data specifications building on ICMA’s Bond Data Taxonomy, and consider the types of risk factors and disclosures required in a tokenised bond offering document. For more information, see here.
In February 2024, ICMA welcomed the successful offering of digital green bonds issued by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China (the HKSAR Government) adopting ICMA’s Bond Data Taxonomy (BDT), a first by a sovereign, supranational and agency (SSA) issuer and also a first for a green bond.
Partnerships and collaborations
Across the region, ICMA has established partnerships or collaborates with other trade associations to share technical and regulatory expertise on national and international markets and cooperate on market development initiatives. Please refer to the list of international affiliations.
Education
ICMA offers high quality professional development training courses* in support of its capacity building activities in markets across the region. ICMA is particularly active in sustainable finance and repo and collateral market trainings in the Asia-Pacific region, often in partnership with regional development banks and central banks.
ICMA has announced partnership with National University of Singapore’s Asian Institute of Digital Finance (NUS-AIDF) to develop an AI Governance Executive Programme in Global Capital Markets.
*ICMA is recognised by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) as an approved Continuous Professional Training (CPT) course provider.
Contacts
ICMA Legal & Regulatory Helpdesk in Hong Kong
(Members only)
+852 2531 6590
ICMA representative office in Hong Kong
Phone: +852 2531 6592
Email: apac@icmagroup.org
Address
Hong Kong Representative Office
Unit 3603, Tower 2, Lippo Centre
89 Queensway Admiralty
Hong Kong
Google map
| Mushtaq Kapasi Managing Director and Chief Representative for Asia-Pacific Direct line: +852 2531 6590 |
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| Ricco Zhang Senior Director, ICMA Asia Pacific Direct line: +852 2531 6591 |
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| Alex Tsang Director, Asia Pacific Direct line: +852 2531 6593 |
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| Wing Wong Office Manager, ICMA Asia Pacific Direct line: +852 2531 6592 |
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| Christhoper Matthew Associate, ICMA Asia Pacific Direct line: +852 2531 6594 |
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| Vincci Xiao Associate, ICMA Asia Pacific Direct line: +852 2531 6595 |
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