DBS China has been granted a principal underwriting licence for non-financial corporate bonds by China’s National Association of Financial Market Institutional Investors ( NAFMII ).

This is the most comprehensive underwriting licence granted by NAFMII and further strengthens DBS’s position as a gateway for foreign investors and issuers to tap the world’s second-largest bond market.

Combined with the bank’s existing capabilities, DBS is now the only Singapore-headquartered lender licensed to play a leading role in managing all onshore corporate bond issuances in the China Interbank Bond Market ( CIBM ). This includes helping manage the group of banks and broker-dealers involved in a bond issuance.

Foreign issuers are increasingly tapping China’s bond markets for financing. According to Chinese financial data provider Wind Information, Panda bond issuances in the CIBM registered a 26% compound annual growth rate over the past five years to 173.3 billion ( US$25.04 billion ) in 2025, from 54.5 billion yuan in 2020.

Last year, DBS China participated in Panda bond issuances worth 65.8 billion yuan, accounting for a 38% market share. This made the bank one of the most active foreign players in the field.

Wider renminbi access

As a leading financial institution in Asia, DBS has been delivering comprehensive and competitive renminbi solutions as clients diversify their trade and currency exposures.

In 2025, DBS became the first Singapore bank to be appointed as a renminbi clearing bank. In addition, DBS Singapore was admitted as an overseas direct participant to China’s Cross-Border Interbank Payment System ( CIPS ), building upon DBS China’s position as one of the earliest direct participants of CIPS since 2015.

With its clearing bank status and direct access to onshore RMB liquidity, DBS can provide clients with wider access to RMB-denominated instruments and seamless RMB cross-border usage and settlement.

Also, DBS Singapore received approval last year to operate in the onshore over-the-counter ( OTC ) bond market. The bank recently completed its first OTC pilot trade by facilitating the sale of a 100 million yuan bond to its Korean branch.

Ginger Cheng, chief executive officer of DBS Bank ( China ), says: "China's bond market is entering a new stage of high-quality development. Its market size remains the second largest globally and institutional access continues to deepen. This licence is a recognition of our long-term commitment to the Chinese financial market and enables DBS to be a crucial lever for serving cross-border capital flows. We will seize this opportunity to attract more high-quality international issuers to issue Panda bonds, while simultaneously helping overseas investors allocate RMB assets more efficiently and conveniently.”