HONG KONG'S chief monetary official yesterday welcomed a call for China's state-run firms to float more bonds in the territory.
Hong Kong Monetary Authority chief executive Joseph Yam said a new wave of bond issues from the mainland could buoy the territory's debt market.
He was responding to a proposal made yesterday by People's Bank of China vice-governor Chen Yuan.
The two officials gave speeches and answered questions at the opening of a two-day conference on China-Hong Kong financial relations after the handover in 1997.
Mr Chen said the territory's bond market had lagged behind its banks and stock market, and the demand for bonds exceeded the supply offered by institutions wary of debt.
Bonds issued by state-run firms from the mainland probably would be well-received by investors in such an environment, he said.
