Press release: Enhanced Co-operation between Market Organisations in Mainland’s Interbank Market and Hong Kong’s Financial Markets

The National Association of Financial Market Institutional Investors (NAFMII) and the Treasury Markets Association (TMA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Co-operation (MOU) in Beijing today (27 April).  The NAFMII was represented by Secretary-General Shi Wenchao and the TMA was represented by Mr Eddie Yue, Deputy Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and Chairman of the Executive Board of the TMA.  Market practitioners from the Mainland and Hong Kong attended a roundtable discussion after the signing ceremony to examine issues about interactions and co-operation between the financial markets of the Mainland and Hong Kong.

 

The signing of the MOU signifies a formal co-operative relationship between the self-regulation organisations in the interbank market and treasury market of the Mainland and Hong Kong respectively.  It provides a platform on which market practitioners from the Mainland and Hong Kong can interact, paving the way for the members of the two organisations to establish a comprehensive, co-operative relationship and to contribute to the mutual development of the financial markets of the Mainland and Hong Kong.  Through the MOU, the NAFMII and the TMA have agreed to strengthen co-operation in a wide range of areas such as market development, establishment of codes, research, visits, exchanges, and training.

 

The financial markets on the Mainland, especially the bond market, have experienced rapid developments in recent years.  The issuance and transaction amounts of bonds reached RMB 9.6 trillion and 162.8 trillion respectively at the end of 2010 while the custodian amount reached RMB 20.2 trillion at the end of the year.  The outlook for the bond market on the Mainland is positive, as the 12^th Five-Year Plan announced in March clearly calls for “considerably increasing the proportion of direct financing” and “proactively developing the bond market.”  The renminbi bond market in Hong Kong also achieved encouraging developments in recent years, with the issuance amount exceeding RMB 35 billion over the course of 2010.  The financial markets of the Mainland and Hong Kong are becoming increasingly closely linked with each other amid the continuous expansion of the use of the renminbi outside the Mainland and internationalisation of the Mainland’s financial markets.  Market practitioners of the two markets are increasingly hoping to learn more about and participate more within the other market.

 

Mr Shi Wenchao, Secretary-General of the NAFMII said, “The co-operation between the NAFMII and the TMA is like a cord uniting the financial markets of the Mainland and Hong Kong.  I hope practitioners from the two markets can make good use of this cord.  We will continue to listen to the views of the market practitioners and learn about their needs, working together to further improve and strengthen this cord to suit the needs of the market practitioners and to contribute to the interaction and co-operation of the financial markets of the Mainland and Hong Kong.”

 

Mr Eddie Yue, Chairman of the Executive Board of the TMA said, “I look forward to the NAFMII and the TMA building upon this MOU to further promote co-operation between the financial markets of the Mainland and Hong Kong on business development, professional training, establishment of codes, and experience sharing.  I am sure our hard work will benefit the international financial markets as well as the Mainland’s.

 

Following the signing ceremony, market practitioners from the Mainland and Hong Kong attended a roundtable discussion on the current issues within the development of the Mainland’s interbank market and Hong Kong’s financial markets as well as the interaction between the two.  Participants of the discussion commended the efforts of the NAFMII and the TMA in serving the needs of the financial markets of Mainland China and Hong Kong, looking forward to further interaction and co-operation between the two markets.

 

Treasury Markets Association

27 April 2011

 

About the NAFMII

The NAFMII is a self-regulation organisation formed voluntarily by market practitioners.  The NAFMII’s principles are self-regulation, innovation and service, focusing on application of self-regulatory rules, fostering of market innovation and provision of services to members.  Since its establishment in 2007, the NAFMII has been an important driving force behind the rapid and healthy development of the interbank market on the Mainland.  Initiatives introduced by the NAFMII included the launch of innovative products such as medium-term notes, tools for diversifying and sharing credit risk, extremely short-term financing notes, and the “China Inter-bank Market Derivatives Transaction Master Agreement.”  The NAFMII has also established numerous rules and provided guidance for the interbank market on the Mainland.

  

About the TMA

The TMA is formed by institutionalising the previous Treasury Markets Forum of Hong Kong and the merger with the ACI-The Financial Markets Association of Hong Kong.  The mission of the TMA is to further promote the professionalism and competitiveness of the treasury markets in Hong Kong through the following functions:

Ÿ            developing appropriate codes and standards for the treasury markets

Ÿ             promoting market and product development

Ÿ             enhancing the professionalism of market practitioners

Ÿ            promoting the profile of Hong Kong as the preferred hub for treasury market businesses in the Asia Pacific region.

More media coverage on the MOU signing ceremony are found as follows:

 

交易商協會\香港財資市場公會牽手合作 ~ 鉅亨網

中國銀行間市場與香港金融市場加強市場組織層面合作 ~ 財經日報

中國銀行間市場與香港金融市場加強市場組織層面合作 

~ 香港政府資訊中心

 

香港財資市場公會與內地銀行市場交易商協會簽備忘錄~ 經濟通

內銀交易商會與財資公會簽備忘錄 ~ Yahoo news

金管局副總裁指正和人行商討人民幣FDI ~ Yahoo news