China poses major investment challenges, despite being the second most attractive economy for multinationals. When it comes to using China market data, how is Refinitiv helping organizations to navigate the China Foreign Exchange Trade System (CFETS) or get the best possible coverage, including across commodities and ESG?
- China is less well served than other countries in terms of the breadth and depth of market data coverage and content, presenting challenges for foreign investment.
- It’s vital to not only assimilate China market data from the CFETS, but the economic and event-driven factors influencing those prices.
- Refinitiv coverage in China now includes commodities data for agriculture, metals, power and energy, as well as ESG data measuring resource use and emissions.
Despite the ongoing trade tensions with the United States, the first quarter of 2019 saw China’s economy grow at a steady 6.4 percent as the pace of industrial production accelerated and consumer demand improved.
The past year has also seen President Xi Jinping continue to demonstrate his commitment to financial liberalization.
For example, the recent easing of restrictions on foreign shareholding ratios in domestic banks and financial asset management companies offers new opportunities for foreign-funded banks to establish branches and subsidiaries.
For specific markets like commodities, the introduction of crude oil and iron ore futures has served to open China’s financial sector further.
China’s Financial Futures Exchange has also relaxed trading rules by reducing margin requirements, cutting fees and allowing more trading activities.
These recent developments add further fuel to the decade-long RMB internationalization story, which began in 2009 with the creation of the dim sum bond market and expansion of the cross-border settlement project.
As a result, according to the 2018 World Investment Report, China is now ranked as the second largest foreign direct investment recipient and the second most attractive economy for multinational companies, eclipsed in both cases only by the U.S.
The China investment challenge
A challenge for those wanting to seize these China opportunities is that the region has, historically, been less well served in terms of both the breadth and depth of market coverage and content.
In response, Refinitiv — already a long-established and leading provider of information about the region — now offers wider, deeper and fully integrated coverage to help support decisions and realize the opportunities using China market data.
The key gateway for those looking to make investments and assess opportunities is the China Foreign Exchange Trading System (CFETS). Also known as the National Interbank Funding Centre, it is a directly affiliated to the People’s Bank of China.
Despite its name, CFETS extends well beyond FX to support money, bond and derivatives markets trading.
Its services cover issuance, trades, post-trade processing and benchmarks. CFETS also provides vital information ranging from trade reports and benchmark prices to yield curves, indices and valuations.
Essentially, whether you are new to China, building your existing position in the region, or a Chinese company looking to invest abroad, you will rely on CFETS and related content to trade, mark to market and invest, as well as to manage portfolios and risk.
Using China market data
It’s clearly vital to not only assimilate all the pricing information that CFETS generates, but also to look at the wider economic and event-driven factors that lie behind and influence those prices.
As well as providing you with real-time and historical data on asset classes and their derivatives, Refinitiv offers related content on individual companies, M&A activity and the Chinese economy.
You can also draw on our comprehensive information on company ownership, and individual officers and directors, as well as up-to-the minute and archived news coverage.
All these data sets can be accessed through our Eikon platform or other ‘data feeds’.
Content can be searched and read online, or fed directly into your own systems. You can create greater value from our data feeds by generating your own analytics or using ours to drive better decision making.
In short, Refinitiv can offer you a depth and breadth of coverage that’s second to none, integrated and available through one point of access. This can help you take advantage of opportunities while also minimizing the risks that can often be higher in a less familiar market.
Refinitiv and China data
As inbound and outbound investment increase — and trading strategies evolve — we are constantly anticipating and investing to stay ahead of the curve.
For example, we now provide extensive commodities coverage for agriculture, metals, power and energy data from local and international sources.
And as environmental, social and governance (ESG) data becomes of greater interest to asset managers and other investors, we now offer data for Chinese companies on areas such as resource use and emissions.
China never stops changing and neither will we, helping to anticipate and meet your needs as the trading and investment opportunities in the region grow.
Discover more information about Refinitiv’s China data or our broader market data sets.
