China News Service, July 4th. According to the WeChat official account of the People's Bank of China, with the approval of the State Council, the People's Bank of China and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority recently signed a standing swap agreement, upgrading the currency swap arrangement established by the two parties since 2009 to Standing swap arrangement, the agreement is valid for a long time, and the swap scale has been expanded from RMB 500 billion/HKD 590 billion to RMB 800 billion/HKD 940 billion to further deepen the financial cooperation between the Mainland and Hong Kong and better support Hong Kong’s international The construction of a financial center will promote the steady development of the offshore RMB market in Hong Kong.
The relevant person in charge of the People's Bank of China answers reporters' questions on the signing of the "People's Bank of China and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority RMB/HKD Standing Swap Agreement"
A few days ago, the People's Bank of China and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority announced the signing of a RMB/HKD standing swap agreement.
The relevant person in charge of the People's Bank of China answered questions from reporters on relevant issues.
Q: What are the main contents of the RMB/HKD standing swap agreement between the People's Bank of China and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority?
A:
Recently, the People's Bank of China and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority signed a RMB/HKD standing swap agreement, upgrading the currency swap arrangement established by the two parties since 2009 to a standing swap arrangement, with the swap scale from the original RMB 500 billion/5900 100 million Hong Kong dollars to 800 billion yuan / 940 billion Hong Kong dollars.
Up to now, the People's Bank of China has signed bilateral local currency swap agreements with central banks or monetary authorities in 40 countries and regions. This is the first time the People's Bank of China has signed a standing swap agreement.
"Standing" mainly means that the agreement is valid for a long time and does not need to be renewed regularly. At the same time, the exchange process will be further optimized, and the use of funds will be more convenient.
Q: What are the main considerations for the signing of the standing swap agreement between the People's Bank of China and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority?
A:
The People's Bank of China and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority signed a standing swap agreement mainly to meet the needs of in-depth financial cooperation and development between the Mainland and Hong Kong.
In recent years, the financial cooperation between the Mainland and Hong Kong has been deepened. The capital market interconnection mechanisms such as Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect, Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect, Bond Connect, Fund Mutual Recognition, and Cross-border Wealth Management Connect have continued to advance. Hong Kong's RMB offshore market has developed steadily. Hong Kong has become a The most important clearing center, product center and capital center for offshore RMB.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has always been the main swap counterparty of the People's Bank of China. Upgrading the original currency swap to a standing swap arrangement is in line with the inherent requirement of deepening financial cooperation between the Mainland and Hong Kong, and is also an inherent requirement for the opening and development of the financial market.
Internationally, there are similar standing swap arrangements between central banks in many economies.
Q: What is the significance of the signing of the standing swap agreement between the People's Bank of China and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority?
A:
The People's Bank of China and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority have established a standing swap arrangement and appropriately expanded the scale of swap funds, which can provide the Hong Kong market with more stable and long-term liquidity support, which is conducive to stabilizing market expectations and enhancing the market's endogenous development momentum. Better play the role of Hong Kong's offshore RMB business hub.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland. The signing of the agreement will help consolidate Hong Kong's status as an international financial center and promote the long-term prosperity and development of Hong Kong's financial industry.