Chinese officials will move forward with plans to establish a bond trading link between Mainland China and Hong Kong this year, according to Premier Li Keqiang.
Known as Bond Connect, the link would allow overseas funds to buy onshore bonds through Hong Kong to boost the economy and the city’s status as a global financial centre.
Li told a press conference this week: “This year, we are considering for the first time establishing a bond market connect between Hong Kong and the mainland, allowing foreign capital to buy mainland bonds from overseas, and Hong Kong will be the first to benefit from such an arrangement.”
Li added the Bond Connect is “what the country needs” and it would “provide Hong Kong residents [with] more investment channels.”
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) replied to Li’s comments and said Bond Connect “represents a major breakthrough in the development of capital markets and further strengthens the role of Hong Kong as a gateway between the Mainland and international markets.”
Plans for Bond Connect echo the recently launched Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect which linked up the equities markets in both regions.