Country for PR: Hong Kong
Contributor: PR Newswire Asia (Hong Kong)
Monday, September 27 2021 - 12:00
AsiaNet
ADDX Expands China Footprint With US$200-million Agreement Linked To China's Offshore Investment Scheme
TOKYO, Sept. 27, 2021 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --

Official quota under QDLP programme allows institutions and high-net-worth 
individuals in China to invest in both public and private market products 
abroad 


Digital securities exchange ADDX – formerly known as iSTOX, which is backed by 
Japanese investors JIC Venture Growth Investments (JIC-VGI) and the Development 
Bank of Japan (DBJ) as well as Tokai Tokyo Financial Holdings, expects to 
enlarge its business in China significantly, after concluding a US$200-million 
agreement tied to a government-granted quota for Chinese offshore investments.

The Qualified Domestic Limited Partnership scheme, or QDLP, allows domestic 
investors across China to buy into renminbi funds that focus on overseas 
investment opportunities. Fund quotas are allocated through a few major cities 
– including Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Chongqing.

ADDX has reached an agreement with the Singapore-regulated wealth and fund 
management company ICHAM, which has received a US$200-million allocation as 
part of the Chongqing government's overall US$5-billion QDLP quota. Under the 
agreement, ADDX will be the primary venue for investments from the ICHAM fund 
in China authorised to raise capital from Chinese institutions and individuals. 
ADDX will offer Chinese investors access to private market products issued in 
the form of digital securities covering a broad range of asset types, including 
pre-IPO equity, hedge funds, VC funds, real estate funds, wholesale bonds and 
structured products. The ADDX-ICHAM partnership was among the first batch of 
two QDLP quota recipients announced by the Chongqing government last month [1]. 
ICHAM is also the first Singapore company to secure a QDLP allocation in any 
Chinese city. ADDX and ICHAM were both founded by ADDX Chief Executive Officer 
Danny Toe.

Coming less than a year after ADDX signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) 
with the Chongqing government to set up a future digital securities exchange 
for the Chinese market [2], the new tie-up is an important fillip to ADDX's 
international growth plans, the company said. Regulated by the Monetary 
Authority of Singapore (MAS), ADDX currently serves accredited investors from 
27 countries, spanning Asia Pacific, Europe and the Americas (excluding the 
United States). 

Oi Yee Choo, Chief Commercial Officer of ADDX, said: "The opening up of 
official channels like QDLP to allow Chinese investors to diversify their 
portfolios globally has been taking place gradually and steadily since the 
2000s. Amid rising asset prices within China, this move by the Chinese 
authorities is a prudent one that empowers Chinese institutions and 
high-net-worth individuals to participate in high-quality opportunities 
wherever they are, before bringing their returns back into the Chinese economy 
to the benefit of local businesses and households. For international companies 
that manage or facilitate these investments, including ADDX, China represents a 
massive opportunity. We are only in the early days of this burgeoning flow of 
capital between China and the rest of the world."

Ms Choo added: "At ADDX, our international expansion strategy is grounded on 
our strong, varied set of blue-chip offerings. We are building the world's 
leading private market exchange with blockchain and smart contract technology. 
World-renowned issuers have been drawn to the speed, cost efficiency and access 
to capital that digital securities provide, in a revolution that will 
eventually consign traditional, paper-based securities to history. ADDX is also 
regulated in Singapore, which has established its standing as the top wealth 
management hub for Asian family offices and high-net-worth individuals, thanks 
in no small part to MAS' strategic long-term plan to build a conducive 
environment for global investors and asset managers. As Chinese wealth goes in 
search of opportunities abroad, the financial ecosystem in Singapore that ADDX 
is a part of has a competitive edge because of its deep pool of talent, robust 
and progressive regulations and openness to the world."

Launched in 2012, QDLP is one of a few official programmes for Chinese offshore 
investments, which include QDII [3] and Wealth Management Connect [4]. The QDLP 
is notable because it allows offshore investments in a greater variety of 
assets – not just public market products, but also private market ones with a 
potentially higher risk-reward profile. Chinese individual investors in QDLP 
funds have to meet sophisticated investor requirements [5].

ADDX was founded in 2017 as an integrated issuance, custody and exchange 
platform for digital securities. The financial technology company is backed by 
Japanese investors JIC Venture Growth Investments (JIC-VGI), the Development 
Bank of Japan (DBJ), Tokai Tokyo Financial Holdings, Mobile Internet Capital 
and Juroku Bank, as well as Singapore Exchange and Temasek-owned Heliconia 
Capital [6].

[1] See official Chongqing QDLP announcement on 26 August 2021: 
http://www.liangjiang.gov.cn/Content/2021-08/26/content_10217605.htm
[2] For more information: 
https://www.addx.co/files/09_i_STOX_Signs_MOU_Agreement_With_Chongqing_Monetary_Authority_Sets_Sights_On_China_Expansion_692f17bce2.pdf

[3] The Qualified Domestic Individual Investor scheme. For more information: 
http://www.csrc.gov.cn/pub/csrc_en/OpeningUp/RelatedPolices/QDII/201210/t20121029_216247.html

[4] For more information: 
https://www.hkma.gov.hk/gb_chi/news-and-media/press-releases/2020/06/20200629-4/
[5] To take part in QDLP funds, individual Chinese investors must have two 
years of investing experience and have (a) household financial assets of at 
least CNY 5 million, OR (b) net household financial assets of at least CNY 3 
million yuan, OR (c) an individual annual income, averaged over three years, of 
at least CNY 500,000.
[6] Other ADDX shareholders include Korea's Hanwha Asset Management, Japan's 
Tokai Tokyo Financial Holdings and Thailand's Kiatnakin Phatra Financial Group.

About ADDX

ADDX is a future-ready capital markets platform set to usher in a new era for 
fundraising and investment. Through digital securities, ADDX offers a more 
innovative, flexible, inclusive, and efficient system for an emerging 
generation of investors and issuers. ADDX is on a mission to enable all users 
to transact exactly the way they want to and extend capital market access to a 
broader segment of the community. ADDX is owned and operated by ICHX, which has 
been approved by MAS as a recognised market operator (RMO), and has a capital 
markets services (CMS) license to deal in securities and collective investment 
schemes as well as to provide custodial services. For more information, visit 
ADDX.co(http://www.addx.com/).

For media enquiries, please contact:

Elgin Toh
elgintoh@addx.co

SOURCE:  ADDX
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