No more sleepless nights: how market access is evolving for Asian investors

After 30 years as an issuer in Hong Kong’s warrants market, we have seen first-hand how Asia’s listed structured products landscape has evolved – driven by the region’s growing wealth, increasing investor sophistication, and broader access to global markets. 
Yet one challenge remains unchanged. For investors in Asia, actively following global markets still requires a certain degree of commitment. The opening bell for US equities – which make up over 70% of the MSCI World Index of developed market stocks¹ – rings at 9.30pm or 10.30pm in Hong Kong and Singapore, depending on the season. Overnight, global headlines, macro data and geopolitical developments continue to impact markets elsewhere. 
By the time Asian markets reopen, prices have often already adjusted to overnight news and US market moves. This underscores the need for investment products that continue to track US indices and stocks during Asian trading hours. 
While we cannot change the earth’s rotation, we can improve market structure. Over time, the expansion of listed structured products in Asia can bring global markets closer to home, allowing investors to express views on global investment themes within their own time zone. 

A more global, self-directed investor 
One of the most notable shifts over the past decade has been the evolution of investor behaviour across the region. Participation has increased not only in volume, but also in breadth and sophistication. 
Digital brokerages, lower barriers to entry and easier access to information have enabled more individuals to engage directly with markets and explore a wider range of asset classes and strategies.
This trend is evident in rising activity levels in Hong Kong. In 2025, average daily turnover in derivative warrants rose 48% year‑on‑year, while callable bull/bear contracts (CBBCs) saw a 59% increase². Retail participation in Singapore also reached a five‑year high last year³.
More broadly, retail capital today is far less confined to domestic markets than in the past, with investors increasingly seeking ways to respond to global developments in a more timely and tactical manner. 
As portfolios diversify, demand has grown for instruments that offer flexibility, transparency and efficiency.

How products have evolved to meet changing needs
Exchange-listed structured products have developed in response to these changing expectations. Instruments such as warrants and CBBCs can offer capital-efficient ways for investors to hedge exposures or express tactical views, with the added benefits of real-time pricing, liquidity and access through securities brokerage accounts.
Product design has become simpler and more intuitive, supporting participation across a broader range of underlying assets – including precious metals. 
In Asia, gold and silver hold deep cultural and financial significance, often viewed as stores of value or hedges against inflation. However, access to regulated, exchange‑listed instruments linked to these assets has historically been limited for retail investors.
One recent development illustrating this shift is the introduction of silver linked warrants in Hong Kong earlier in March, allowing investors to trade silver through an exchange listed format. At present, Societe Generale is the only issuer providing silver warrants on the Hong Kong market, reflecting how product innovation can respond to evolving investor preferences and local trading dynamics.

Evolving markets, informed investors 
As participation expands and access improves, the role of issuers has continued to evolve. 
The progression from warrants to CBBCs – which remove much of the optionality complexity found in traditional warrants by incorporating a stop‑loss, or knock‑out, feature – and subsequently to daily leverage certificates (DLCs), has reflected a broader shift towards transparency and ease of use. 
DLCs share a similar payoff profile with the leveraged and inverse exchange traded products (ETPs) that many investors are already familiar with. They offer leveraged or inverse exposure to equity indices or single stocks, but with leverage of three times or higher. 

With greater access comes greater responsibility. 
Issuers play an important role in helping investors navigate a growing product universe by providing clear explanations, robust disclosures and ongoing education around how these instruments work and how associated risks can be managed. 
This focus on investor understanding aligns closely with the objectives of exchanges across the region. In Hong Kong, the range of eligible leveraged and inverse products has expanded over time, while in Singapore we worked closely with the exchange when we became the first issuer to launch DLCs in Asia in 2017. 
Retail investing in Asia will continue to evolve as global markets change and trading becomes increasingly borderless. As an issuer, the priority remains clear: supporting market access while helping investors engage with global opportunities in an informed, transparent and appropriate manner – without losing quite so much sleep.

Disclaimer

The above information and its contents are provided by SG Securities (Hong Kong) Limited (“SG”) for reference purposes only and are directed solely at residents of Hong Kong. They do not constitute an offer, solicitation, invitation, advertisement, inducement, representation of any kind or form, or any advice or recommendation to enter into any transactions. Structured products are non-collateralised. If the Issuer or the Guarantor becomes insolvent or defaults, investors may not receive some or all of the amounts due. The structured products involve risks and their prices may rise or fall, and under certain circumstances investors may sustain a total loss of their investment. Past performance is not indicative of future performance. Callable Bull/Bear Contracts (“CBBCs”) have a mandatory call feature. CBBCs must be terminated when the price/level of the underlying asset reaches the call price/level before expiry. In such case, you will lose all of your investment in the CBBCs (for category N CBBCs) and the residual value of the CBBCs may be zero (for category R CBBCs).  Investors should fully understand the risks of the products and seek independent professional advice before investing. SG and/or its affiliates act as liquidity providers for structured products and may be the only party quoting prices for such products on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited.  You should read the relevant Listing Documents which contain the terms and conditions and risk factors relating to the structured products, in detail.  Please refer to the SG website at hk.warrants.com for the Listing Documents.

¹https://www.msci.com/documents/10199/255599/msci-world-index.pdf
² https://www.hkex.com.hk/Market-Data/Statistics/Consolidated-Reports/HKEX-Monthly-Market-Highlights?sc_lang=en&select=%7bB874D9B6-E6B3-44CC-AC36-B566A6363CCD%7d 
³ https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/retail-investors-pour-into-singapore-stocks-in-2025-with-net-inflow-of-2-6b-sgx