Norman T L Chan: Bond Connect - enhancing Hong Kong as an
international financial centre
Remarks by Mr Norman T L Chan, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, at the
Bond Connect Launch Ceremony, Hong Kong, 3 July 2017.
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The Honourable Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, Deputy Director Huang Liuquan, Deputy Director
Qiu Hong, Financial Secretary Paul Chan, Deputy Governor Pan Gongsheng, Mr CK Chow,
distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
1. Good Morning.
2. I am very pleased to join you today for the launch of Bond Connect. Bond Connect marks
another milestone of mutual access of capital markets between the Mainland and Hong
Kong, following the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect and the Shenzhen-Hong Kong
Stock Connect. It is also another important measure of the Central Government to support
Hong Kong's development as an international financial centre.
3. A key function of Hong Kong as an international financial centre is financial intermediation,
providing efficient and safe conduits for fund flows. The establishment and smooth
operation of these conduits shall be underpinned by suitable and sound financial
infrastructures. Over the years, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has
endeavoured to build our financial infrastructures, from the Real Time Gross Settlement
system to the Central Moneymarkets Unit (CMU) for debt securities settlement, which have
laid a solid foundation for Hong Kong's development as an international financial centre.
4. Bond Connect is a new financial infrastructure established through the connection between
HKMA's CMU and the relevant central securities depositories (CSDs) on the Mainland.
Under Bond Connect, eligible overseas investors can settle and hold their Mainland bonds
through CMU using nominee holding arrangement. Nominee holding arrangement is widely
used by investors in international capital markets as it provides greater convenience and
flexibility to investors and market participants. CMU also adopts nominee holding
arrangement and provides nominee holding services for more than 200 local and
international banks, trust companies and custodians through its linkages with Euroclear,
Clearstream and other regional CSDs. The continued liberalisation of the Mainland's capital
account and RMB internationalisation will progressively raise demand from overseas
investors for RMB asset allocation, while the Mainland has been proactively rolling out
measures to facilitate overseas investors' access to its bond market. We believe that Bond
Connect would enhance overseas investors' participation in the Mainland bond market.
5. I wish Bond Connect a great success. Thank you.