DBS Group, Singapore's biggest bank by assets, said on Wednesday its China unit has been granted a principal underwriting licence for non-financial corporate bonds in China's interbank bond market.
The licence from China's National Association of Financial Market Institutional Investors, or NAFMII, allows DBS to lead-manage all onshore corporate bond deals, including coordinating syndicates, it said in a statement.
DBS, which is also the largest bank in Southeast Asia, said DBS China was one of the most active foreign banks for panda bonds in 2025, commanding a 38 percent market share after having participated in 65.8 billion yuan of issuance.
Panda bonds are yuan-denominated bonds sold in China's onshore market by non-Chinese issuers.
- DBS said it is the first and only Singapore-headquartered bank licensed to lead-underwrite all corporate bonds issued in the China interbank bond market.
- Panda bond issuance in China's interbank bond market rose at a 26 percent compound annual growth rate over the last five years to 173.3 billion yuan in 2025 from 54.5 billion yuan in 2020, DBS said, citing Wind Information data.
- DBS said it became the first Singapore bank to be appointed a renminbi clearing bank in 2025.
Reuters
