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)