because of lower interest rates. in 2022, dim sum bond issuance in hong kong more than doubled to 330 billion yuan. in the first eight months of this year, dim sum bond issuance amounted to 343 billion yuan, up 62 % year on year. rmb loans have also seen impressive growth. in the first seven months this year, rmb loans increased by 74 %, to over 330 billion yuan. in recent years, hong kong has been playing a critical role in supporting china's climate transition through green and sustainable finance. last year, mainland issuers accounted for over 80 % of the green and sustainable bond issuances in hong kong. these issuances have enriched the range of green and rmb financial products available in the hong kong market. in terms of portfolio investment, rmb assets offer good diversification opportunities because of their low correlation with the global markets : 0. 28 for equities and 0. 1 for bonds. 3 / 4 bis - central bankers'speeches as the wider international use of the rmb gathers pace, there is rising demand for various yuan - related risk and liquidity management tools, both onshore and offshore. the introduction of close - out netting enforceability under china's futures and derivatives law is a significant development. in this regard, isda's continued input to the development and implementation of the rules will make a meaningful contribution to aligning such rules with international norms. on our part, the hkma and the sfc will continue our engagement with mainland authorities and market stakeholders to enhance global investors'access to more diverse risk and liquidity management tools. the recent launch of the swap connect was a case in point. we are now actively working on offshore treasury bond futures as well as collateral management using rmb bonds. in this process, we will continue to count on isda as an important partner in ensuring market transparency and efficiency. another important piece of our market infrastructure development work is the hkma's multi - year enhancement plan to modernise hong kong's central moneymarket unit, or cmu in short. our objective is to upgrade the cmu into an international central securities depository in asia. a modernised cmu will better support the connectivity between the chinese and international bond markets in respect of cross - border clearing, settlement and custodian operations. the enhanced service capabilities will provide additional choice for investors from the mainland and abroad to settle debt securities more efficiently, which will in turn lower cross -

joseph yam : banking sector risks and challenges luncheon talk by mr joseph yam, chief executive of the hong kong monetary authority, at the hong kong institute of bankers, hong kong, 16 june 2004. * * * the turnaround thank you for inviting me to talk to you today. it is a pleasure to be here and i am delighted to see such an enthusiastic attendance. i was recently looking over past speeches ( not, let me assure you, with the aim of recycling them ), and i noted that the last time i spoke at one of the institute ’ s lunches was on 24 october 2001. this has prompted me to reflect on how much we have all been through over the past 32 months - both as a financial community and in the larger community. when i last spoke to you the world was just six weeks on from the 9 - 11 attacks. there was a strong sense that we were heading for difficult times, with a worsening global environment, and with deepening deflation, unemployment, a budget deficit, falling asset prices and a rising number of negative equity mortgages within hong kong. conditions were likely to get worse before they got better, i concluded. well, after a period of great difficulty, in which things got considerably worse than i think any of us had imagined, conditions are now at last improving. since around the middle of last year hong kong has been enjoying a strong and broadening recovery. the economy has now regained much of its dynamism. the key economic numbers are providing the confirmation. economic growth has been impressive. the unemployment rate has been coming down, albeit slowly. deflationary pressure has been easing. the external sector has been active and we are running a substantial current account surplus. the residential property market, on which the wealth of many in our community depends, has bottomed out from a falling trend that had lasted for over five years. domestic consumption has been picking up. of more direct interest to us in the hkma, the risks to monetary and banking stability, which had been worrying us for some time, have receded. the very fast dissipation in the number of cases of personal bankruptcy and negative equity mortgages is very welcome indeed. the turnaround in the hong kong economy and, consequently, the improvement in the asset quality of banks, were made possible by the more favourable global economic environment and by measures taken to strengthen economic ties between hong kong and the mainland. indeed, banks in hong kong have also