Advancing Open Data Standards in APAC: Key Takeaways from Bloomberg's APAC Open Data Standards Forum (Hong Kong)

As financial markets continue to evolve, the need for consistent, high-quality data has become increasingly important. Growing complexity across jurisdictions, asset classes, and regulatory frameworks has highlighted the challenges of fragmentation, particularly as markets move toward greater digitalization and interoperability.

Against this backdrop, Bloomberg recently hosted its first APAC Open Data Standards Forum in Hong Kong, bringing together regulators, exchanges, government officials and industry participants to discuss how open identifiers such as the Financial Instrument Global Identifier (FIGI) and the Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) are being applied in practice.

Throughout the forum, discussions reflected a shared recognition that data standards are no longer simply technical tools. Instead, they are becoming foundational components of market infrastructure, supporting transparency, risk management, and cross-border consistency.

A key theme was the role of identifiers in reducing ambiguity. While FIGI enables precise identification of financial instruments, the LEI provides a standardized framework for identifying legal entities across global markets. Together, they form a complementary layer that supports data integration across workflows, from trading and settlement to regulatory reporting.

Conversations highlighted how the LEI and FIGI are already embedded within regulatory frameworks and operational processes. In Hong Kong, for example, the use of LEIs in OTC derivatives reporting¹ reflects broader global efforts to improve transparency and facilitate risk aggregation. Regulators also acknowledged the use of FIGI as an option for reporting in the underlier ID field.² As regulatory initiatives such as the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendation 16³ continue to evolve, the importance of consistent entity identification is expected to increase further. FATF Recommendation 16 (often referred to as the “Travel Rule”) requires financial institutions to include accurate originator and beneficiary information with cross-border payments, reinforcing the need for standardized, globally recognized entity identifiers.

Beyond regulatory use cases, participants also discussed the growing relevance of identifiers in emerging areas such as tokenization and digital asset markets. As financial instruments become more digitally native, the ability to reliably link instruments to the entities behind them will be critical. In this context, the LEI is increasingly viewed as a core component of digital financial infrastructure, enabling continuity of identity across systems and jurisdictions.

The forum also underscored the importance of collaboration between regulators, market participants, and data providers. These key stakeholders play a vital role in building a more sustainable and interoperable financial ecosystem through the adoption of interoperable data standards.

As markets continue to develop, the focus is shifting from initial adoption of standards to deeper integration. The question is no longer whether identifiers such as FIGI and LEI are needed, but how they can be more effectively embedded across workflows to support a more transparent, efficient, and resilient financial ecosystem.

¹ Joint further consultation conclusions on enhancement to the OTC derivatives reporting regime for Hong Kong to mandate, September 2024 (HKMA and SFC): pages 21, 22, 25, 106, 112, 135

² Joint further consultation conclusions on enhancement to the OTC derivatives reporting regime for Hong Kong to mandate, September 2024 (HKMA and SFC): page 115

³ Financial Action Task Force (FATF), Recommendation 16 – Payment Transparency (updated June 2025): FATF Recommendation 16