The 'great pie' for anniversary of handover

The expected launch later this year of the Bond Connect - the third securities trading link between Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland - represents a pleasing gift for the city, which is celebrating the 20th anniversary of its return to the motherland.

Global bond-fund managers have hailed the latest linkup as one that will cement Hong Kong's role as a premier international finance center by facilitating cross-boundary fund flows from overseas to the world's third-largest bond market after the United States and Japan, with a total debt value estimated at $9.5 trillion.

Last month, the People's Bank of China, the central bank, and the Hong Kong Monetary authority - the city's de facto central bank - announced that the Bond Connect will kick off in phases, starting with northbound trading, which will allow overseas institutional investors in Hong Kong, as well as those in other countries and regions, to invest in bonds traded in the China interbank bond market.