MTS, part of the London Stock Exchange Group, has launched the first designated electronic trading platform for Euro-denominated Cypriot government bonds.
The addition of Cyprus to MTS’s interdealer market, MTS Cash, increases the number of countries on the market to 21. From 18 November 2019, primary dealers will be able to electronically trade Cypriot debt on MTS Cash, which offers a liquid, transparent and efficient European bond marketplace with real-time pricing from its central limit order book. MTS has been operating electronic fixed income markets for 30 years, developing technological expertise in both government and corporate debt market operations.
Seven primary dealers have signed up as liquidity providers for the platform including Barclays Bank, Citigroup Global Markets, Goldman Sachs International, HSBC France, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Société Générale.
Phaedon Kalozois, Director of PDMO, Cyprus, says: “A thriving secondary market is vitally important for the health of Cypriot sovereign debt and will help us optimise our cost of funding in the long term. What impressed us most about MTS was the combination of decades of experience providing electronic bond trading platforms combined with a commitment to deliver state-of-the-art trading technology. This, together with the ability to engage with the wider LSE Group, makes MTS Cash the ideal host for Cypriot bonds.”
Maria Cannata, Chairman of MTS, says: “MTS has been at the forefront of electronic bond trading for over 30 years. We’re excited to bring this considerable expertise to introducing further innovation into the Cypriot government bonds market. Adding Cyprus to our list of primary debt markets is an important part of our continued growth and geographic expansion.”
Fabrizio Testa, Chief Executive Officer at MTS, says: “We’re delighted to welcome Cypriot bonds into the group of dedicated order books available on the MTS Cash platform. MTS facilitates the trading of billions of Euros daily across European bond markets by a network of over 100 global dealers. Our trading infrastructure will now enable primary dealers on MTS to trade Cypriot government debt efficiently while benefiting from automated settlement. It will also provide Cyprus’ debt management office with direct access to international investors and the deep liquidity of Europe’s secondary markets.”
