mainland has continued to grow. and we provide global investors with a familiar, trusted point of access to mainland markets. that ’ s why about two - thirds of the mainland ’ s two - way capital flows consistently go through hong kong. 25. some argue that this advantage is temporary. as china ’ s domestic capital markets open up, the argument goes, surely international capital can bypass hong kong and go directly to shanghai and shenzhen? 26. it is true that the mainland authorities are pursuing further liberalisation of the onshore capital markets. this was evident in a series of reforms to the qualified foreign institutional investor regimes last year. access to the china interbank bond market has also been enhanced, making it easier for investors anywhere to directly access this 16 trillion us dollar market. 27. and yet hong kong ’ s own portal to mainland bonds is more popular than ever. orders going through our bond connect link to china ’ s interbank bond market account for more than half of its turnover by foreign investors. more than 2, 400 institutional investors are registered on the platform. and bond connect has continued to grow right through the social unrest and pandemic : volumes rose by 82 per cent in 2020. 28. hong kong ’ s two stock connect links – with shanghai and shenzhen – are also very popular with international investors. average daily turnover on stock connect more than doubled last year. ‘ northbound ’ traffic from here to the mainland rose by 119 per cent. this reflects continued global demand for chinese securities as their weighting in benchmark indices increases. 29. and investors choose stock connect for the same reason they choose bond connect. through hong kong, they can enter chinese markets on a platform that is proven and familiar, using english - language documentation and applying international norms and practices. 30. the opening - up of various channels into china ’ s domestic markets gives options to international investors. they can choose to have an onshore presence and trade directly in the local market. or they can continue to use hong kong as their base if it makes sense for their strategy and resources. 31. the fact that the majority of foreign investors access the mainland capital markets using the two connect schemes speaks volumes about the unique value proposition of the hong kong platform. in recent years, that financial connectivity has been boosted by increasing ‘ southbound ’ traffic from the mainland to hong kong. 32. it is well known that hong kong is the leading hub for mainland enterprises looking to issue equity or debt in the international market. that activity continued to

joseph yam : fourth hong kong monetary authority distinguished lecture : opening remarks opening remarks by mr joseph yam, chief executive of the hong kong monetary authority, at the fourth hong kong monetary authority distinguished lecture on the theme of monetary policy and financial stability, hong kong, 13 february 2001. * * * it is an honour for me to welcome mr andrew crockett to deliver this fourth hong kong monetary authority distinguished lecture. i am also delighted to welcome dato ’ dr zeti akhtar aziz as the discussant. both are good friends of the hkma, and it is a special pleasure to see them here today before this large and diverse audience. i extend to all of you, on behalf of the hkma, a very warm welcome. the subject matter of this lecture – monetary policy and financial stability – is at the heart of central banking. much attention has been given to resolving the apparent conflicts between the two desirable objectives of monetary stability and financial stability, at the policy as well as the operation levels. the recent experience of a number of jurisdictions has indicated problems in achieving both simultaneously. some have gone as far as to introduce institutional changes to alleviate the tension, or the embarrassment, or the risk of policy credibility being undermined as a result of such conflicts. while the jury is still out on what institutional arrangements for delivering simultaneously monetary and financial stability are appropriate, there is doubt as to whether institutional changes, politically attractive as they may be, are the right answer. today andrew will give us his insights on the subject. he is particularly qualified to do so, being responsible for the running of the central bank of central banks. some of you may feel that this subject matter is a little arid. i am aware of the fact that those in the private sector have, particularly at this time of the year, more practical and " profitable " issues occupying their minds. but the achievement of monetary and financial stability is central to any successful economy and therefore important to the general conduct of business. it is also a burning issue in this region, where the experiences over the last few years have underlined its importance, and the consequences of failure. knowing andrew, who has an admirable ability to present technically complex issues of money and finance in the simplest of terms, i am sure you will find the subject refreshingly interesting. andrew crockett has been general manager of the bank for international settlements since 1994. to pursue the classroom metaphor that i used at the last lecture to describe how central bankers