It’s been four months since the first batch of Hong Kong Singapore Depository Receipts (SDRs) hit Singapore’s local bourse, and the traction has been solid! The pioneer five - 𝑨𝒍𝒊𝒃𝒂𝒃𝒂 𝑺𝑫𝑹 (𝑯𝑩𝑩𝑫), 𝑩𝒂𝒏𝒌 𝒐𝒇 𝑪𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒂 𝑺𝑫𝑹 (𝑯𝑩𝑵𝑫), 𝑩𝒀𝑫 𝑺𝑫𝑹 (𝑯𝒀𝑫𝑫), 𝑻𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝑺𝑫𝑹 (𝑯𝑻𝑪𝑫), 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑯𝑺𝑩𝑪 𝑺𝑫𝑹 (𝑯𝑺𝑯𝑫) - have seen turnover double since launch, with Tencent, BYD, and Alibaba each trading close to S$1 million daily.

Come this Wednesday (5 March 2025), we’re welcoming three more HK SDRs to the SGX Group family! 𝑿𝒊𝒂𝒐𝒎𝒊 (𝑯𝑿𝑿𝑫), 𝑴𝒆𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒏 (𝑯𝑴𝑻𝑫), 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑷𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑨𝒏 𝑰𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 (𝑯𝑷𝑨𝑫) are joining the mix, bringing the total to eight. With this, SDRs now cover over 40% of the Hang Seng Index (HSI) across three heavyweight sectors - Financials, Technology, and Consumer.

Well, here’s why SDRs are worth a serious look.

First, they offer 𝒔𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒊𝒛𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒖𝒎 - great for those looking to ride the China tech rally without committing a hefty sum. Take BYD, for example - buying a lot (500 shares) of its HK shares would set investors back by about S$32,000, but with SDRs, you can get 1 lot (100 shares) in for just <S$700.

Another perk? 𝑷𝒓𝒆- 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒕-𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒕 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔! SDRs let investors position themselves ahead of the HK market open (9:00–9:30am) and after it closes (4:00–5:00pm). A perfect case in point was Alibaba’s results announcement on 21 February 2025, which dropped during US trading hours. Investors jumped on the SDRs the next morning, with trades done during the 9:00–9:30am window making up more than 8% of the day’s volume.

And let’s not forget the 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 - SDRs trade in SGD on SGX, are custodised with CDP (everyone love CDP), and dividends are paid in SGD. No forex fuss, no extra headaches!

With all these advantages, SDRs are shaping up to be a pretty nifty way to tap into HK’s market while keeping things simple and cost-effective right here at home.