Hong Kong Stock Exchange: "Northbound Mutual Market Access" extends product contract period to 30 years.

On June 30th, the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) announced that, with the guidance and support of regulatory authorities in both jurisdictions, its subsidiary, Hong Kong Clearing Corporation Limited, along with the China Foreign Exchange Trading System and Shanghai Clearing House, will extend the maturity of "Southbound Interest Rate Swap" products to 30 years. On the day of the optimization measures launch, 25 domestic and overseas institutions actively participated in Renminbi interest rate swaps with a maturity of over 10 years, totaling 56 transactions with a nominal principal amount of 1.53 billion RMB. The tri-party infrastructure successfully completed the first day of trading, clearing, and settlement, with the system running smoothly. The introduction of the optimization measures for the "Southbound Interest Rate Swap" will further expand the depth and breadth of the connectivity between domestic and international interest rate derivative markets, enriching cross-border risk management tools to meet the diverse risk management needs of domestic and overseas institutions. This includes improving the yield curve, synergy with existing short-term and medium-to-long-term interest rate swap products to build a comprehensive interest rate risk management system covering all tenors; filling the gap in ultra-long-term interest rate management tools to provide precise duration matching tools for long-term funds such as insurance and pension funds, effectively hedging interest rate fluctuation risks in ultra-long-term bonds; and enhancing the diversity of cross-border investment strategies to support international investors in constructing more complex yield curve trading strategies and improving the efficiency of Renminbi asset allocation. As an innovative initiative connecting the mainland and Hong Kong financial derivative markets, the "Southbound Interest Rate Swap" has become increasingly active since its launch in May 2023, injecting new vitality into both financial markets. As of the end of June 2025, the "Southbound Interest Rate Swap" has accumulated a total transaction volume of 7.16 trillion RMB, attracting 82 overseas institutions to participate, and has become a major channel for overseas investors to manage Renminbi asset interest rate risks, continuously attracting more foreign capital to invest in Chinese market bonds. In the future, the tri-party infrastructure will continue to work closely with regulatory authorities in both jurisdictions and all market participants to further enrich the variety of "Interest Rate Swap" products, improve risk management frameworks, promote the mutual development of the mainland and Hong Kong financial markets, and support the high-level opening-up of the Chinese financial market.