KEY PROJECTS IN 2021
FURTHER EXPLORING THE MAIN MARKETS
Expanding trading hours on the markes
In March 2021, Moscow Exchange FX, Derivatives and Precious Metals Markets started trading at 7 am MSK. At the beginning of December, the pre-market session was also launched in the Equity Market. Clients in Siberia and the Far East can now benefit from more convenient trading hours offered by MOEX. Thus, trading hours on most MOEX markets have increased to 17 hours a day.
The Bond Market trading hours were also extended with the after-hours session launched at the end of September. Investors can now trade federal government bonds (OFZ) and Eurobonds from 19:00 to 23:50 MSK.
The increase in trading hours is particularly popular with retail investors. They account for 56 % of
Trading in international stocks
In September 2021, Moscow Exchange began trading in international stocks with settlement in USD. Trading in international stocks with settlement in RUB was launched in September 2020. These stocks are traded and settled in both Russian rubles and US dollars within the reliable infrastructure of Moscow Exchange: with the participation of a qualified central counterparty (or CCP) (National Clearing Center, NCC) and securities record-keeping with the Central Securities Depository (National Settlement Depository, NSD). At the end of 2021, 521 most liquid stocks of the largest international companies were listed.
NSD launched a new service for professional market participants, banks and brokerage firms, that provide access to trading in international securities on the Exchange - as part of a simplified procedure for submitting Form W-8BEN to calculate tax on international shares. The service allows NSD to automate the process of accepting electronic individual identification Form W-8BEN when paying income on US securities.
New instruments
In 2020, Moscow Exchange held six initial public offerings (IPOs) of Russian companies such as Segezha Group, Renaissance Insurance, European Medical Center, Fix Price, Softline and CIAN. M.Video-Eldorado, Etalon Group, MKB, VTB, HeadHunter, Beluga Group, Fix Price, MMK, Rusagro, PIK Group and Magnit conducted secondary public offerings (SPOs).
The Derivatives Market began trading in futures and options on SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, futures on shares of Chinese companies Alibaba and Baidu, as well as PIK Group shares, RTS Index (mini) futures, options on natural gas and Yandex shares. A the end of December, trading in FX futures on Euro-based currency pairs was launched.
The range of corporate Eurobonds was expanded: 49 new securities were added during 2021, bringing the total number of Eurobonds traded to 115. The number of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) which became increasingly popular among retail investors grew: at the end of 2021, 138 ETFs, including 114 Russian-law ETFs and 24 ETFs, were traded on the Exchange’s Equity Market.
PROMOTING A CULTURE OF TRUST AND RESPONSIBILITY
In 2021, Moscow Exchange launched a program to improve its compliance culture and develop new channels of interaction between employees of the Group companies in relation to risks.
The following compliance initiatives were implemented in 2021:
- Compliance and business ethics working groups were established with market participants and the regulator;
- A Code of Good Conduct for market participants was developed;
- the Exchange’s hotline on the Code of Good Conduct for market participants was launched;
- the Exchange together with NAUFOR developed a typology of unfair practices on the financial market;
- the Exchange held a conference for market participants entitled “Compliance: Key Trends 2021”;
- the Exchange joined the Anti-Corruption Charter of Russian Business;
- procedures were strengthened and processes were automated for managing compliance risks;
- Moscow Exchange achieved ISO 37301 certification;
- the Exchange achieved its FATCA/QI target structure; NCC was granted QDD status.
FINANCIAL PLATFORM
“Transit 2.0”
“Transit 2.0” helps market participants meet the challenges of reducing costs and improving transparency and interaction. “Transit 2.0” meets the demands of a modern multi-banking platform, which is a necessary element for an efficient digital treasury. In 2021, traffic increased to 2,500,000 payment documents, and a currency transfer and control functionality was launched. At the beginning of 2022, 26 corporations and 14 banks were connected to the Transit 2.0 platform.
Financial Transaction Registrar (FTR)
The FTR began its work together with the launch of Finuslugi platform. Created on the basis of NSD, the FTR accumulates information on all transactions made on any financial platform. In 2021, the key milestones in the development of FTR were:
- expansion of the list of registered products;
- implementation of the Bonds to Marketplace project: the first issuer was the administration of the Kaliningrad Region.
BALANCE MANAGEMENT
MOEX Treasury corporate marketplace
In 2020, MOEX Treasury - a terminal for corporate clients with direct access to trading - was launched.
The MOEX Treasury terminal allows companies to perform conversion and swap transactions on the FX Market, including RFS service, spot and swap transactions on the Precious Metals Market, deposit funds with the CCP on the Money Market, raise funds on the Credit Market, as well as view quotes for hedging instruments in the Derivatives Market and conduct deposit auctions to place funds in the M-Deposit Market.
67 companies, 35 of which were connected in 2021, are already using the MOEX Treasury terminal for efficient liquidity management. Integration with the trader’s personal account and with the “Transit 2.0” system is also available through the terminal.
In 2021, Moscow Exchange started using the technology and infrastructure of the NTPro platform to provide OTC services, and expanded corporate clients’ capabilities on the MOEX Treasury platform:
- integration with NSD’s “Transit 2.0” platform took place;
- the option to make money transfers (clearing terminal) has been added;
- algorithmic FX Market orders were added;
- an aggregate CCP deposit order book and a currency fix premium order book were added;
- the option to receive analytical statements on own transactions was introduced.
Acquisition of a stake in the OTC FX platform NTPro
At the end of October 2021, MOEX completed the acquisition of a 65.5% stake in BierbaumPro AG which is 100% owner of NTPro. The transaction increased Moscow Exchange’s ownership in BierbaumPro AG from 29.5% to 95%. The platform offers solutions for liquidity aggregation, matching and algo execution across a wide range of FX instruments, as well as services to connect to more than 60 FX liquidity providers. In 2021, average daily turnover on the platform was approximately USD 7.5 billion.
MARKET ACCESS
Finuslugi (financial marketplace)
The Exchange rolled out the personal finance platform Finuslugi.ru on 15 October 2020. In 2021, the Exchange acquired INGURU, an electronic platform for selecting insurance and banking products, that has allowed Finuslugi clients to compare and purchase various financial products.
During the year 2021, great efforts were made to develop the Finuslugi service:
- the option to open replenishable deposits was introduced;
- “KASKO” comprehensive insurance product was launched;
- consumer loans were launched;
- sales of mortgage insurance were launched;
- a unique investment product was launched: ‘people’s’ bonds of Russian regions, which can only be purchased through Finuslugi, without opening a brokerage account;
- a new multi-product website was launched;
- instant wallet and deposit replenishment service implemented.