China News Service, Hong Kong, September 15-The People's Bank of China and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority issued a joint announcement on the 15th, announcing that the Bond Connect "Southbound" will be launched on September 24.
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government said on the same day that it welcomes this measure to further expand the interconnection of the capital markets of the two places, and sincerely thanks the central government for its support.
The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Carrie Lam said that the country’s 14th Five-Year Plan clearly supports the strengthening of Hong Kong’s functions as a global offshore RMB business hub, an international asset management center, and a risk management center.
The launch of the "Southbound" Bond Connect to achieve full two-way connectivity in the bond market will promote further interconnection between the financial markets of the two places. It is a new milestone in achieving the goals of the "14th Five-Year Plan" and consolidating Hong Kong's status as an international financial center.
These positive effects are also fully reflected in the "Northbound Link" of Bond Connect.
Since the launch of the project, the amount of onshore bonds held by overseas institutions has increased from approximately RMB 880 billion in 2017 to RMB 3.8 billion in August 2021, and the average daily turnover during the same period has also increased by 17 times.
She said that the central government will continue to maintain Hong Kong's status as an international financial center.
Hong Kong is very grateful to the central government for launching the Bond Connect "Southbound Link" within a short period of time after launching the "Cross-border Financial Link", and thanks the People's Bank of China and other relevant entities for their support in this process.
The Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, Chen Maobo, said that Hong Kong has always been committed to deepening the interconnection with the mainland financial market in order to further strengthen the role of connecting domestic and foreign financial markets.
The opening of Bond Connect "Southbound" will expand the product categories under the interconnection plan. On the one hand, it will provide qualified domestic investors with effective channels for diversified asset allocation, and it will also bring huge opportunities to the Hong Kong financial industry.
The opening of southbound trading will further highlight Hong Kong’s unique function of connecting mainland funds and various products in the international market. It will not only enhance Hong Kong’s attractiveness as a bond issuance platform and increase the liquidity of bonds issued in Hong Kong, but also further boost the RMB The process of internationalization.
(over)