Yiu-kwan Choi: Launch of the CMU Bond Price Bulletin
Remarks by Mr Yiu-kwan Choi, Deputy Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, at the
Signing Ceremony for the Launch of CMU Bond Price Bulletin, Hong Kong, 9 January 2006.
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It gives me great pleasure to welcome you all to this signing ceremony for the launch of the CMU Bond
Price Bulletin.
We are pleased to see the launch of the Bulletin. This, we believe, will be a useful tool to help promote
the retail bond market in Hong Kong. As you know, financial infrastructure development has always
been a priority item on the HKMA's policy agenda. A robust financial infrastructure is important in
maintaining the stability and integrity of the monetary and financial systems and in strengthening Hong
Kong's status as an international financial centre. Over the years, we are proud that, with the support
of banks and other financial institutions, the HKMA has built a sophisticated financial infrastructure that
meets the best international standards. Having said that, we are conscious that there is always scope
to further strengthen our financial infrastructure to take account of the latest technology and market
developments.
It was precisely for this reason that the HKMA conducted a comprehensive review last year on
financial infrastructure development in Hong Kong. The launch of the Bulletin is one of the
recommendations arising from this review. The objective is to provide retail investors with convenient
on-line access to information on bond products and bond prices. We believe that the launch of the
bulletin will help to raise product awareness and improve price transparency, thereby helping to
promote the development of the retail bond market in Hong Kong.
The bulletin is developed by the Central Moneymarkets Unit of the HKMA. We are delighted to have
eight major banks, which are present here today, to be the price providers. Thanks to their support,
indicative bid/offer prices of over 200 bonds of different currencies issued by both public and private
sector entities will be available on bulletin. Investors may access the bulletin later today for bond
information. The website address is https://www.cmu.org.hk.
The bulletin also provides direct hyperlinks to the price providers' websites to facilitate investors to
approach the price providers for trading. Relevant transaction charges imposed by individual price
providers are also posted on the bulletin. Retail investors can easily gain access to, and conclude
trades with, the price providers in a convenient, secure and efficient manner.
We are thankful to banks and potential users for their valuable comments during the development of
the bulletin. We will monitor the usage and feedback to gauge whether there is scope for future
expansion. We would welcome feedback from users and would endeavour to improve the bulletin on a
continuous basis. Other banks interested to join as price providers are welcome to approach the
HKMA for further information. I hope that in time, the bulletin will become a popular portal through
which retail investors could easily navigate and shop for the bonds that will suit their investment
needs.
Thank you.