HONG KONG – The People's Bank of China on Thursday announced a series of measures to deepen mutual access between the financial markets in the Chinese mainland and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

The measures include supporting various types of offshore institutional investors to conduct repurchase (repo) business in the mainland bond market, expanding the list of Swap Connect dealers and enhancing relevant management mechanisms, increasing the daily quota of Northbound trading of Swap Connect by more than double to RMB45 billion.

The central bank will also work with relevant authorities to provide more renminbi assets in the Hong Kong market, including treasury bonds, and will continue to cooperate closely with different parties to accelerate the launch of RMB treasury bond futures in the city.

The HKSAR government welcomed the PBoC announcement.

As global investors' demand for RMB-denominated products grows, Hong Kong's role as a global offshore RMB business hub and risk management center becomes increasingly important, said Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po.

“With the strong support from our country, the HKSAR government is committed to deepening and expanding mutual access between the mainland and Hong Kong financial markets, continuously enriching RMB-denominated investment products and risk management tools to meet the needs of investors both domestically and internationally.”

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The newly announced PBoC measures provide strong support for the SAR government’s efforts and further promote the coordinated development of the fixed income markets in both places, he said.

“We sincerely thank the central government and relevant authorities for the care and support for Hong Kong, and will continue to do our utmost to contribute greater efforts to our country's development into a financial powerhouse,” he added.

Pointing out that the issuance of RMB bonds in Hong Kong has increased year by year, exceeding RMB1 trillion last year, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui Ching-yu said that since the implementation of Swap Connect in 2023, it has operated smoothly with steadily increasing business volume.

The average daily notional principal amount traded in August 2025 reached RMB20 billion, an over five-fold increase from the first month of its launch in 2023, he said, adding that with increasing participation by offshore investors in the mainland's bond market, demand for related risk management tools is growing.

“Enhancing the Swap Connect mechanism will further facilitate overseas investors in hedging risks in mainland assets, thereby helping them better manage their portfolios,” said Hui.

Hong Kong regulators will also work closely with relevant mainland institutions to enrich the options of RMB products in the SAR and implement the launch of offshore treasury bond futures expeditiously, he said.

Market institutions in both places will finalize the implementation details and announce the launch dates, added Hui.