HK body to boost bank ties

HK body to boost bank ties

HONG KONG (Reuter): Hong Kong's de-facto central bank will continue building ties with regional central banks and boost the territory's debt market to maintain competitiveness, Rafael Hui, secretary for financial services, said yesterday.

"The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) is in discussions with other central banks in the region including Australia and New Zealand and Indonesia for a linkage of the settlement system in the context of debt securities," Hui said at a press briefing.

Hui will continue to serve as secretary for financial services under the new Beijing-backed government after July 1 when China takes over Hong Kong.

"There are discussions between the HKMA and the People's Bank of China to establish a settlement system which in future will be linked and enable real time settlement of foreign exchange transactions of the Hong Kong dollar and renminbi (yuan) in both China and Hong Kong," Hui said.

Hong Kong's weak focus on its debt markets would be rectified, Hui said.

"There are various measures and proposals from the private sector and various exchanges to increase the liquidity and debt of our debt both at the primary and secondary level," he noted.

On the equity side, Chinese companies listing in Hong Kong would still have to follow Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE) regulations, Hui said.