Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) and Thomson Reuters Corp (NYSE:TRI) have announced the joint launch of a series of Renminbi (RMB) indices which measure the intraday performance of the RMB against Mainland China’s most important and relevant trading partners’ currencies. The indices measure the performance of RMB against a basket of key currencies.
The primary index measures the performance of CNH against a basket of 14 key currencies.
| Primary Index | Base Currency | Basket Currencies |
| TR/HKEX RXY Global CNH | CNH | AUD, CAD, CHF, EUR, GBP, HKD, JPY, KRW, MYR, NZD, RUB, SGD, THB, USD |
| Index Variants | Base Currency | Basket Currencies |
| TR/HKEX RXY Global CNY | CNY | AUD, CAD, CHF, EUR, GBP, HKD, JPY, KRW, MYR, NZD, RUB, SGD, THB, USD |
| TR/HKEX RXY Reference CNH | CNH | AUD, CAD, CHF, EUR, GBP, HKD, JPY, MYR, NZD, RUB, SGD, THB, USD |
| TR/HKEX RXY Reference CNY | CNY | AUD, CAD, CHF, EUR, GBP, HKD, JPY, MYR, NZD, RUB, SGD, THB, USD |
The indices allow market participants to view intraday RMB movements according to a transparent, rules based methodology. The weight of each currency is determined by calculating the volume of trade between its issuer and Mainland China, as per publicly available data from UN Comtrade and the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department. All indices are calculated hourly using WM/Reuters rates, a leading foreign exchange (FX) reference for indices and financial contracts worldwide.
Charles Li, HKEX
According to Charles Li, CEO of HKEX:
This co-branded index series is another important addition to our infrastructure for RMB products. As Chinese capital goes global over the next 30 years and more international equities and commodities are priced in RMB, our RMB indices will become a useful basis for products to help investors manage currency risk.
We see great opportunities in fixed income and currency for Hong Kong and HKEX as RMB continues to become more international. We continue to strengthen HKEX’s leadership in introducing RMB products for the offshore market and develop Hong Kong as the global asset pricing centre for China.
“We are delighted to further strengthen our commitment to the region, to the FX market and robust benchmarking with the launch of our co-branded RMB index series with our longstanding partner HKEX,” said Stephan Flagel, Global Head of Indices at Thomson Reuters.
“In view of China’s internationalisation and RMB’s increasing presence as a global trading currency, it is a great opportunity for us to partner with HKEX to provide a series of indices that will use global standards to help market participants make better-informed investment decisions and manage risks. At a time when Chinese currency movements and market volatility are frequently observed, it makes sense for two trusted and independent names to launch these indices to capitalise on the significance of RMB’s internationalisation,” he added.
During a time of increased regulatory scrutiny worldwide, the new index series provides market participants with benchmarks that reflect the development of the RMB’s effective exchange rate against other major currencies and is designed to be transparent, tradeable and compliant with the International Organisation of Securities Commission’s principles for financial benchmark governance and administration.