The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced Monday it was
to launch an electronic trading platform for exchange fund bills
and notes (EFBNs).
The platform will start operation Tuesday, the Monetary
Authority said.
"With the launch of the electronic trading platform, market
players can identify their trade counterparties and conclude deals
more efficiently," the Monetary Authority, which is virtually the
local central bank, said in a press release.
The platform was expected to help "enhance price transparency
among the market players and streamline the trading process," it
added.
The trading platform has been designed to be flexible, allowing
it to be set up according to the specific requirements of
individual market players.
"The launch of the electronic trading platform is an endeavor by
the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Treasury Markets
Association to encourage electronic bond trading, a practice which
has increasingly been adopted by more advanced bond markets in the
world," said Eddie Yue, deputy chief executive of the Monetary
Authority and chairman of the executive board of the Treasury
Markets Association.
The platform had its origin in a recommendation by the Monetary
Authority in a late 2006 review. It was aimed at providing the
necessary infrastructure to support electronic trading of other
bonds in addition to EFBNs, and could be extended to cover other
financial instruments available in the market.
Besides local market players, overseas investors are also
encouraged to use the platform when trading bonds and other
financial instruments issued in Hong Kong.
The Monetary Authority and the Treasury Markets Association,
along with contracted service companies, worked on developing
infrastructural financial projects, too.
(Xinhua News Agency December 11, 2007)
