INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION OF CHINA'S BOND MARKET SURGES: FINANCIAL SECTOR

HONG KONG, July 10 (Bernama-Xinhua) -- A summit in Hong Kong on Tuesday marked the 7th anniversary of Bond Connect, which links the mainland and Hong Kong bond markets, reported Xinhua.

Participants at the Bond Connect Company Limited (BCCL) summit noted significant improvements in international recognition of China's bond market.

Launched in 2017, Bond Connect grants overseas investors easier access to the enormous market of the Chinese mainland.

Zhang Yi, Chairperson of BCCL, said that Bond Connect pioneered the development of the financial market under multiple constraints, withstood the test of the market with impressive data, and was welcomed and recognised by institutional investors.

Paul Chan, Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government, said that Bond Connect is the main channel for overseas investors to allocate mainland assets. Last year, the total transaction volume of international investors' investment in the mainland bond market exceeded 15 trillion Chinese yuan (US$2.06 trillion), two-thirds of which were conducted through Bond Connect.

Chan said that in the future, Hong Kong will continue to make good use of its own advantages, seize national development opportunities, continuously optimise interconnection content, and better gather mainland and global capital and investors.

Jiang Huifen, Deputy Director-General of the Financial Market Department of the People's Bank of China, stated in a video speech that the growing connectivity between the mainland and Hong Kong in recent years has invigorated China's financial opening up. The People's Bank of China will continue to strengthen collaboration with Hong Kong and support its development as a premier international financial centre with greater determination.

Eddie Yue, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), noted that despite increasing volatility in the global financial market, international investors' willingness to invest in RMB assets has remained strong.

The Southbound Bond Connect is an important driving force behind the development of the offshore RMB bond market in Hong Kong, attracting many domestic and overseas enterprises and financial institutions to issue dim sum bonds in Hong Kong. The total amount of RMB bonds issued in Hong Kong last year was 540 billion yuan, an increase of 3.5 times over 2020, Yue added. (1 US$ = 7.29 Chinese yuan)  

--BERNAMA-XINHUA