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% market share after having participated in 65.8 billion yuan ($9.54 billion) 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-headquarteredbank licensed to lead-underwrite all corporate bonds issued inthe China interbank bond market.
Panda bond issuance in China’s interbank bond market roseat a 26% compound annual growth rate over the last five years to173.3 billion yuan in 2025 from 54.5 billion yuan in 2020, DBSsaid, citing Wind Information data.
DBS said it became the first Singapore bank to beappointed a renminbi clearing bank in 2025.
Reuters
