in shanghai serves a supplementary rather than the main source of rmb funds for trade settlement purpose. in order to further promote the steady development of the rmb market in hong kong, the following refinement measures will take effect from january next year : participating ais can square their positions with the clearing bank when there is a shortfall of rmb arising from conversions with customers for cross - border trade settlement transactions. in other words, participating ais should first utilise the rmb trade proceeds purchased from their customers to satisfy requests for rmb conversions for trade settlement transactions before purchasing rmb through the clearing bank in shanghai. participating ais can only purchase rmb through the clearing bank in shanghai for their customers in relation to trade transactions due for payments to the mainland within three months. the hkma and the pboc estimate that the demand for rmb conversion in shanghai would be within rmb 4 billion in the first quarter of 2011. the volume of conversion will be assessed and appropriately adjusted after the first quarter taking into consideration the actual circumstances. in order to maintain a steady supply of rmb, the hkma will, as a standing arrangement, provide rmb funds of rmb 20 billion through its currency swap arrangement with the pboc, for cross - border rmb trade settlements. given the restrictions in the convertibility of rmb, participating ais are required to limit their rmb net open positions ( whether net long or net short ) to 10 % of their rmb assets or liabilities. participating ais ’ credit risk exposure to the clearing bank in their letter to the hkma in november, the hong kong association of banks raised the issue of credit limit against the background of an increasing amount of rmb deposits being placed by participating ais with the clearing bank as the rmb business in hong kong continued to expand and deepen. the hkma and the pboc have held discussions about this issue, and it is considered that the issue could in principle be resolved by the participating ais establishing custodian accounts with the clearing bank. this means that the rmb funds will be placed with the pboc shenzhen branch through the clearing bank as a custodian to overcome the issue of credit limit. we will further discuss with the pboc, the clearing bank and participating ais on the details of such an arrangement including the related legal documents and operational procedures. it is hoped that the arrangement can be implemented soon early next year. conclusion i believe

survey to measure the financial literacy of micro, small and medium enterprises, as part of an international project coordinated by the oecd for the italian presidency of the g20, within the global partnership for financial inclusion. allow me to briefly recall the topics that will be discussed in today ’ s workshop today we will have an opportunity to discuss a wide range of topics that are relevant not only to long - term investment but also to the unprecedented health crisis we are experiencing. the role of non - bank financial intermediation ( the so - called nbfi sector ) has become increasingly important since the great financial crisis, also because of a prolonged phase of deleveraging in the banking sector. this is a topic that will be touched on today and has been at the forefront of discussions that are currently taking place in the major international regulatory policy fora. within the nbfi sector, investment funds and insurance companies represent a vital source of finance for non - financial corporations ( both equity and debt ). the stability of these corporations ’ financing sources is, in turn, a pre - requisite for their undertaking of investments, especially in activities such as research and innovation that have the potential to generate high growth. therefore, a long - term orientation of investment funds and insurance companies is essential to guarantee such stability. the covid - 19 crisis and the associated episodes of financial turbulence, especially those experienced in march 2020 with the so - called “ dash - for - cash ” episode, has revealed significant fragilities in the nbfi sector. spikes in volatility and illiquidity, whose effect can be significantly amplified by excessive leverage and liquidity mismatches, can quickly disrupt the provision of non - bank finance to the corporate sector and to the real economy. central banks and governments intervened promptly after the march 2020 episode in order to avoid wide scale economic damage and undesired consequences for both price and financial 2 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches stability. but central bank and public support cannot, and should not, be taken for granted : we must ensure that the nbfi sector becomes more resilient in its own right, independently of any support. to this end, international authorities are already working, under the leadership provided by the fsb, on building a macro - prudential framework to strengthen the nbfi sector ’ s resilience to shocks. the recent archegos episode is just the latest example of how urgent it has become to reach this objective.