HKMA: CMU to launch new services by year-end.

On September 23, Eddie Yue, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, said in a speech at the Treasury Markets Summit that Hong Kong's stock, foreign exchange, and bond markets are mature, while digital finance is also rapidly emerging. The Central Moneymarkets Unit (CMU) will launch new services by the end of this year, which will provide 24-hour, real-time on-chain settlement, support e-HKD and central bank digital currencies (CBDC), and will also study accepting tokenized deposits and regulated stablecoins for settlement on the platform. Eddie Yue pointed out that over the past 20 years, Hong Kong's bond market has achieved a compound annual growth rate of 20%. Last year, about one-quarter of Asia's international bond issuance was conducted in Hong Kong, with strong growth mainly coming from dim sum bonds. As Hong Kong dollar funding conditions have become more favorable, Hong Kong dollar-denominated wonton bonds have also grown significantly, with globally institution-issued wonton bonds increasing by 64% year-on-year in the first half of the year. At the same time, Hong Kong has become a leading global hub for tokenized bond issuance, accounting for half of the world's digital bond issuance in the first half of this year. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority will support the government's regular issuance of digital bonds, promote deeper integration with digital currencies, and encourage broader industry adoption. He also mentioned that the Hong Kong Monetary Authority will conduct tests on tokenized Exchange Fund bills, and the measures will help the banking sector manage its balance sheets more efficiently. As Hong Kong continues to develop digital finance, Eddie Yue said the market will be able to launch more innovative services to enhance transaction efficiency and transparency. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority aims to make market services more diversified and more liquid, and most importantly, participants must work together.