Bond Connect Anniversary Summit 2023 was held on July 4 (Tuesday) to mark the sixth anniversary of the launch of  Bond Connect.

Zhang Yi, President of China Foreign Exchange Trade System and Chairperson of Bond Connect Company Limited (BCCL) and Nicolas Aguzin, HKEX Chief Executive Officer delivered welcome remarks at the summit. Paul Chan, Financial Secretary of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; Gao Fei, Deputy Director-General, Financial Market Department of the People’s Bank of China; Eddie Yue, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority; Julia Leung, Chief Executive Officer of the Securities and Futures Commission; Rong Yihua, Deputy Director General, Financial Market Management Department of the People’s Bank of China Shanghai Head Office; Dai Deyi, Deputy General Manager of the Shanghai Clearing House and Xu Zaiyue, President of CIPS, delivered keynote addresses. Representing issuers and Northbound market makers to deliver speeches respectively were Zang Jian, Director General of China Development Bank's Treasury and Financial Markets Department, and Xie Wei, Vice President of Shanghai Pudong Development Bank.

Paul Chan, Financial Secretary of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region said: “It has been six years since Bond Connect’s official launch in July 2017 during the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to the motherland. Looking back, its launch offered offshore investors a platform to invest in the onshore interbank bond market via Hong Kong for the first time.”

Looking ahead, he further added: “Hong Kong will continue to strengthen its linkage and interaction with the Mainland's capital markets, further solidify its status as a global offshore RMB business hub and international risk management center, and proactively contribute to the country's development.”


(Paul Chan, Financial Secretary of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region)

Gao Fei, Deputy Director-General, Financial Market Department of the People’s Bank of China said: “Positioning Hong Kong as an important intermediary bridging the Mainland and the world’s financial markets, fully reflects the confidence and commitment of the Central Government to support Hong Kong’s long-term prosperity, stability and development. It also injects new vigor and energy to the high-quality opening of China’s bond market. On the occasion of the sixth anniversary of Bond Connect, the People’s Bank of China, together with various parties in the Mainland and Hong Kong have jointly promoted a package of measures to facilitate investments. These include firstly broadening the market maker base to more foreign institutions in China for the Northbound Bond Connect trading , secondly providing basket-bond portfolio trading functionalities to cater the needs of index-tracking investors, and thirdly optimizing the settlement failure reporting process of Northbound Bond Connect. ” “Next, the People’s Bank of China will continue to deepen pragmatic cooperation with Hong Kong under the correct leadership of the Party Central Committee and the State Council in accordance with the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the Central Economic Work Conference. It will firmly support the construction of Hong Kong as an international financial center, continue to steadily promote the reform, opening up and high quality development of China’s financial market, and provide strong support for accelerating the construction of a modern economic system and building a new development pattern.

Zhang Yi, President of China Foreign Exchange Trade System and Chairperson of BCCL said: “The open thinking that runs through Bond Connect, including respect for international practices, attention to market demand and timely response, and effective risk management, makes Bond Connect a benchmark for the opening up of China's financial market.”

Nicolas Aguzin, HKEX Chief Executive Officer said: “Since its launch in 2017, Bond Connect has been a key enabler of the expansion of international investor access to China’s onshore bond markets. The programme continues to be an integral part of our Connect franchise, ensuring that HKEX provides international and Chinese investors with unrivalled access to opportunities in the region. HKEX looks forward to continuing to collaborate with our partners across the region, supporting two-way capital flows and connecting China and the world.”

Under the theme of “Integrity, Innovation and Connectivity”, participants exchanged views during three panels on the opportunities presented by the further opening-up of China’s bond market and the internationalisation of the RMB, as well as the significance of the recently launched Swap Connect.

Among BCCL’s initiatives this year is the inclusion of the settlement failure online reporting of Northbound Bond Connect in CNYPlus. This initiative provides an online reporting option that enhances the efficiency of the settlement failure reporting process, supporting better access to the interbank bond market for offshore investors and streamlining their user experience.

Since its launch in July 2017, Bond Connect has played a pivotal role in connecting financial markets between China and the world, and it is now the primary channel through which international investors access China’s interbank bond market. 

As at the end May 2023, 798 financial institutions and 80 of the top 100 global asset managers from over 30 jurisdictions have been onboarded to invest in China’s interbank bond market via Bond Connect. The monthly average daily turnover under Bond Connect reached RMB 46.3 billion, up over 30 times compared with it launched.

BCCL would like to thank all market participants for their ongoing support of Bond Connect, and looks forward to continuously working closely with them to promote the further development of China's financial markets.