Bond Connect to fortify domestic issuance market

Global bond fund managers welcomed the approval of launching northbound trading of the Bond Connect, saying this is a progressive and incremental step to open the world's third-largest bond market after the United States and Japan, with a total debt value estimated at $9.5 trillion.

The People's Bank of China and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority on Tuesday jointly announced that overseas institutional investors in Hong Kong and other economies and areas could invest in bonds traded in the China Interbank Bond Market, with more investment quota being set for northbound trading. The date of the formal launch will be announced later.

Southbound trading, in which mainland investors invest in the Hong Kong bond market, will be explored in due course, according to the PBOC and HKMA joint statement.