Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) announced on 4 March 2025 that it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with CMU OmniClear Limited (CMU OmniClear) to boost the Hong Kong post-trade securities infrastructure.
The partnership aims to enhance Hong Kong’s post-trade securities infrastructure and support the growth of the city’s fixed-income and currencies (FIC) ecosystem.
CMU OmniClear and HKEX will work together to explore ways to improve cross-asset efficiencies in equities and fixed income, expand the use of Mainland bonds as collateral, strengthen Hong Kong’s role as a bond issuance hub, and develop an international central securities depository (ICSD) in Asia.
Bonnie Y Chan, HKEX Chief Executive Officer, said,
“We look forward to working closely with the HKMA and CMU OmniClear to advance the development of Hong Kong’s fixed-income market, enabling the next chapter of RMB internationalisation and enhancing Hong Kong’s status to an international financial centre, a global risk management centre, and an offshore Renminbi (RMB) business hub.”
Eddie Yue, Chief Executive of the HKMA and Chairperson of the Board of Directors of CMU OmniClear, said,
“This is also a pivotal step in accelerating the transformation of CMU into an ICSD in Asia upon the establishment of CMU OmniClear. With our collective efforts, we believe we can offer the market a spectrum of products across asset classes, fostering the continued development and innovation in Hong Kong’s financial markets.”
This partnership aims to lay a solid foundation for enhancing bond settlement and collateral management operations by fostering closer collaboration between financial market infrastructures.
The Hong Kong post-trade securities infrastructure also supports the development of advanced risk management products, essential for the sustainable growth of Hong Kong’s capital markets.
CMU, Hong Kong’s fixed-income central securities depository (CSD) operated by CMU OmniClear, manages US$4.8 trillion in assets. It plays a crucial role in settling bond transactions on Bond Connect and supports the growth of Swap Connect by enabling efficient use of collateral held with CMU.
HKEX and the HKMA have been working together to develop these two Connect programmes since Bond Connect launched in 2017. Both programmes set new trading records yearly, driven by increasing international participation in Mainland China’s fixed-income market.
Source of image: Edited from Freepik
