Innovation in APAC Secured Funding and Financing Markets

Finadium
May 2025

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APAC is teeming with capital market changes, from technology to taking on new funding and financing structures. This is partly due to the advent of Basel III Endgames, which have introduced new requirements for balance sheet management. However, Asian institutions are in a less constrained starting position compared to European and North American counterparts for legacy technology management.

Innovation is happening in fits and starts, and often where it is not expected. This is creating opportunities for experimentation by incumbents and startups, including Western technology companies selling products locally as well as innovators developing products for the domestic and regional market. Still, there is no one consolidated market to count on and every country has its own rules and regulations. Sovereign wealth funds with a mandate to develop local economies can function as kick starters to new business opportunities. The funding ecosystem is uneven however, and local venture capital investors may be unwilling to provide funding until there is a proven revenue stream.

And then there is China. It is a difficult market to bet against, even in the face of a slowing global economy and geopolitical challenges. Mainland China, Hong Kong and closely connected markets know that the second largest global economy by GDP has tools at its disposal to shift the tides in its favor, even when odds look otherwise poor.

Based on research conducted in February and March 2025, this report documents elements of innovation occurring in Southeast Asian and Chinese capital markets with an emphasis on funding and financing. Like the diverse region itself, it presents a number of findings that may be useful reading for any capital markets participant across business, technology, operations and risk roles.

Table of Contents

• Executive Summary
• Basel III Lands with a Thud
• Sizing the Markets
• – Repo
• – Securities Lending
• The Case for China
• – Pledged Repo Rises, Securities Lending Shrinks
• Extraterritoriality in US Treasury Repo Clearing
• Three More Trends to Watch
• – The Buy-side in Hong Kong and Singapore
• – ICSDs, Triparty and CMU Omniclear
• About Finadium LLC