More measures to deepen mainland-Hong Kong capital market cooperation: official

BEIJING, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- China's securities regulator said that further policy measures will be introduced to deepen mainland-Hong Kong two-way practical cooperation and support the development of Hong Kong's capital market.

Wu Qing, chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), made the remarks at the launch ceremony for RMB treasury bond futures in Hong Kong. Beginning August 3, offshore RMB treasury bond futures are offered in Hong Kong, marking a new milestone in the development of Hong Kong as an offshore RMB business hub. On Monday, five-year bond futures were officially launched.

Wu said the move will provide international investors with convenient and efficient interest rate risk management tools, helping foreign capital to hold Chinese bond assets with greater confidence and ease, and promote closer linkages between the spot, futures and derivatives markets for government bonds in the mainland and Hong Kong.

In the long term, the introduction of this product will enrich the usage scenarios of offshore RMB, and strengthen Hong Kong's function as a global offshore RMB business hub, Wu said.

Wu said the CSRC will support mainland and Hong Kong index companies in strengthening cooperation to launch more indices based on Chinese assets, and promote industry institutions on both sides to introduce more ETF products based on the two markets, in efforts to jointly enhance the global influence of Chinese indices and assets.

The CSRC will also support mainland-listed companies exploring overseas markets to list in Hong Kong, while supporting high-quality Hong Kong-listed firms in listing on the mainland.

"We will actively support eligible Hong Kong enterprises in issuing bonds on the mainland and using diversified capital market tools to achieve innovative development," Wu said.

The CSRC will mull expanding the scope of mutual recognition of professional qualifications in the securities and futures sectors between the mainland and Hong Kong to better support outstanding professional talents working in both places, he added.

Paul Chan, financial secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government, said on Sunday that the launch of offshore RMB treasury bond futures not only enriches the RMB risk management tools available in the Hong Kong market, but also signifies the deeper development of RMB treasury bonds in offshore markets and the orderly advancement of RMB internationalization.

The RMB treasury bond futures will allow international investors to trade and settle relevant contracts in the offshore market using their existing trading accounts, habits, and processes in Hong Kong, Chan noted. ■