Hong Kong stock exchange has seized market share from its Singapore rival in China stock futures, opening up a winner-takes-all battle for control of how global investors hedge Chinese equities.
The fight to become the dominant pool of liquidity for so-called A-share futures not only pits Hong Kong’s share market against Singapore but also Blackrock against Chinese fund companies and the index provider FTSE Russell against MSCI, with implications for their global competitiveness.
Open interest in Hong Kong’s A-shares futures contract has risen to as much as $2bn since its October launch. The swift uptake recalls past shifts in derivative liquidity, such as the “Battle of the Bund” between Frankfurt and London in the late 1990s.