SFC Leung Fung-yee: Strive to include RMB stock trading counters in Stock Connect as soon as possible.

The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, Leung Fung-yi, stated on June 17 at the 2026 Shanghai Lujiazui Finance & Trade Zone Development Forum that, currently, global geopolitical tensions are continuing to escalate, and the uncertainty in capital markets is increasing. Sovereign wealth funds and private equity funds actively seek diversification and security in asset allocation, making fixed income markets highly favored. RMB assets, represented by Chinese government bonds, are gradually becoming an important option for non-dollar asset allocation. Leung Fung-yi mentioned that the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission will continue to support HKEX in launching more RMB-denominated futures contracts against other currencies, RMB-denominated gold futures, and structured fixed income products. They will also cooperate with overseas regulatory authorities in order to include RMB stock trading counters in the Hong Kong stock connect scheme as soon as possible. Leung Fung-yi stated that Bond Connect has become one of the main channels for overseas investors to invest in domestic bonds. As of the end of April 2026, the scale of RMB bonds held by overseas investors exceeded 3 trillion RMB. In recent years, trading volumes through Bond Connect have steadily increased, with the transaction volume reaching 1.2 trillion RMB in March 2026. The monthly average transaction amount reached 556 billion RMB, both of which set new historical highs. Dim Sum bond issuances in the Hong Kong offshore RMB bond market have significantly increased. In 2025, the issuance volume of offshore RMB bonds issued in Hong Kong reached 1.1 trillion RMB. Furthermore, Leung Fung-yi expressed that with the global energy transformation and reshaping of supply chains, new energy trade is expected to become a new driving force for the internationalization of the RMB. Economists have proposed a strategic new approach of "new energy RMB," which revolves around efficient new energy as a pivot, turning CECEP Solar Energy, wind energy, electric vehicles, and other low-carbon supply chain products into new export growth points, deeply linked to the internationalization of the RMB. This will gradually lead the country's advantageous industries to adopt RMB pricing and settlement in global trade, thereby generating actual demand for the RMB. Leung Fung-yi stated, "It is still early to say whether the RMB can develop into a 'new energy currency,' but a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. As the global offshore RMB business hub, Hong Kong must play a more central role." Leung Fung-yi stated, "These developments clearly indicate the increasing demand for RMB assets in overseas markets." She mentioned that in order to seize this new opportunity, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority have actively promoted Hong Kong to become a more competitive center for fixed income and currency, jointly issuing the "Fixed Income and Currency Market Development Roadmap" in September last year. Centered around the four pillars of primary market issuance, secondary market liquidity, offshore RMB business, and new generation infrastructure, the roadmap introduced a series of important measures. Leung Fung-yi mentioned that for overseas sovereign wealth funds and long-term funds, Chinese government bonds, as a long-term investment option, are not limited to yield or currency itself, but rather the completeness of the entire ecosystem, including a variety of hedging tools, flexible repurchase arrangements, efficient secondary market trading, and convenient asset allocation. "The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission will soon announce the timeline for the listing and trading of government bond futures. We believe that after the launch of this offshore risk management tool, it will strongly promote the active participation of overseas investors in the government bond market." Leung Fung-yi said. Leung Fung-yi mentioned that the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission is working with HKEX to promote more offshore and onshore government bonds and other fixed income products to be included in the margin scope recognized by HKEX's futures clearing house and options clearing house. She said, "We strive to implement this measure within the year to further enhance the competitiveness of the Hong Kong derivative products market."