National Settlement Depository (NSD), Russia’s central securities depository (CSD), signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with China Central Depository and Clearing Co., Ltd. (CCDC), China’s CSD servicing governmental securities.
The two parties agreed to share experience and information and to develop cooperation in the sphere of depository and settlement operations, operational interactions using corresponding accounts (links), corporate actions processing and information services.
NSD and CCDC said they intend to cooperate in the bilateral format and within the framework of the Association of Eurasian Central Securities Depositories (AECSD), the Asia-Pacific Central Securities Depository Group (ACG) and the World Forum of Central Securities depositories (WFC).
“Russia’s post-trading infrastructure integration with the global market and with the Chinese market in particular meets our clients’ interests and expectations,” said Eddie Astanin, chairman of the executive board, NSD.
“China’s huge investment potential in the Russian market and Russian issuers’ and market participants’ interest in financial instruments and assets of the Chinese market create a demand for the CSD services in both countries. Thus, the MoU signed by CCDC and NSD is an important step which benefits our companies.”
In 2014, NSD together with representatives of the Bank of Russia, Russia’s Ministry of Finance and major market participants held meetings and seminars in the two Asian financial centres of Hong Kong and Singapore. Bilateral meetings with representatives of regulators, stock market infrastructure institutions and banking community were organised.
NSD and CCDC were both founded in 1996, the latter to provide depository services to government securities holders. In addition to government bonds safekeeping and record keeping CCDC, which is headquartered in Beijing, services over-the-counter (OTC) corporate bonds.