I’m glad to note the warm market response to our new grant scheme. Since its inception in May, nearly 30 applications from green and sustainable debt issuers have been approved and more than 40 are in the pipeline. 18. To further strengthen our green and sustainable finance ecosystem, the HKMA and the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) co-established the Green and Sustainable Finance Cross-Agency Steering Group last year, with an aim to coordinating cross-agency 3/4  BIS central bankers' speeches  market development efforts on this front. In July this year, the Steering Group launched the Centre for Green and Sustainable Finance, which coordinates the efforts of financial regulators, Government agencies, industry stakeholders and academia in capacity building; and at the same time, helps improve data availability for the financial industry. 19. With these ongoing efforts and our strong commitment to green finance, Hong Kong’s role as a regional green and sustainable finance hub has been taking shape. But we should not stop there. I encourage all of you to continue to build on our strength as the leading financial centre in Asia to capture the enormous opportunities in this growing space. With our natural advantage to be the “green” gateway for China, we believe that Hong Kong can continue to contribute to this important transition in the region. Closing 20. I began my speech by highlighting the complex and far-reaching nature of the challenges arising from LIBOR cessation. Meeting these challenges would require tremendous efforts from all of us across the financial markets.

Asides from these efforts, the HKSAR Government has issued two rounds of institutional green bonds since 2019, with the 30-year green bond to be the longest tenor green bond issued by a government in Asia. As part of our continued commitment in promoting sustainable development, Hong Kong has also set up the world’s first government Global Medium Term Note Programme dedicated to green bond issuances. We believe this could not only create a strong demonstrative effect, but also help establish a benchmark yield curve, which is critical in supporting the further development of the green bond market in Hong Kong. Other Initiatives 16. Indeed, Hong Kong is already one of the major green finance hubs globally, with a strong presence of finance and legal professionals, global institutional investors and asset managers committed to green and sustainability. As the manager of the Exchange Fund (EF), the HKMA is also integrating sustainability into our investment strategy. We are not only supportive of responsible investment at the EF level, but also seek to collaborate with like-minded investors and international organisations to promote ESG standards in investment process. 17. Looking ahead, we believe that green and sustainable bonds will continue to be the key growth driver. In May, Hong Kong launched the Green and Sustainable Finance Grant Scheme to support green and sustainable bond issuance and lending. The scheme, which will last for three years, provides subsidy for eligible bond issuers and loan borrowers to cover their expenses on bond issuance and external review services.