Hong Kong identifies yuan trading, talent growth and green finance as areas for cooperation with Vietnam and Laos
- Hong Kong will encourage Vietnam and Laos to consider issuing yuan bond in the city, Minister Hui says
- The relaxation of visa arrangements would promote more talent exchange between Hong Kong and Vietnam
The cooperation will help foster mutual benefits and development for all parties, said Christopher Hui Ching-yu, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury.
Vietnam and Laos are part of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations or Asean. China is Asean’s largest trading partner, with bilateral trade rising to US$975.3 billion in 2022 from US$641.5 billion in 2019, according to official statistics.
In his meetings with state officials and regulators in Vietnam and Laos, Hui said he highlighted the rapid growth of the yuan market in Hong Kong, now the largest offshore yuan trading market outside mainland China. Some 388 billion yuan (US$54.3 billion) have also been raised from bond sales in the first 10 months, versus 263 billion yuan in all of 2022.
“I encourage the two governments to consider the benefit of issuing yuan bonds to enjoy lower interest-rate costs, and they could consider issuing offshore yuan [sovereign] bonds in Hong Kong,” Hui added.
Hong Kong began developing the city as a yuan trading centre in 2003 as part of China’s efforts to internationalise its currency. The city handles about 75 per cent of offshore yuan settlement, while deposits have surpassed 1 trillion yuan in local banks. Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, or HKEX as the stock exchange operator is known, has also enabled some stocks to be traded in yuan since June.
