Page 37 - 期货和衍生品行业监管动态（2023年8月刊）
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期货和衍生品行业监管动态
New initiatives to develop Hong Kong as an offshore renminbi and risk
management centre were launched during the quarter. Swap Connect, the first Connect
programme for financial derivatives products, commenced northbound trading in May.
It allows investors of Mainland bonds to hedge interest rate risks from Hong Kong. As
of end-June, a total of 540 Mainland interbank interest rate swap contracts were traded
under Swap Connect, with a gross notional amount of about RMB129 billion or a daily
average of about RMB3.9 billion.
In June, the renminbi (RMB) counters of 24 stocks were launched for trading
under the HKD-RMB Dual Counter Model. The dual counter market making
programme would enhance liquidity and minimise share price gaps between the two
counters. Trading of RMB counters has been smooth and orderly so far with an average
daily turnover of RMB193.9 million as of end-June.
Southbound ETF (Note 1) trading has maintained strong momentum through the
debut year for ETF Connect. Its average daily turnover increased 20 times from $216
million in July 2022 to $4.64 billion in June 2023, which contributed 18.4% of the
eligible Hong Kong ETFs’ turnover during the month.
To support the development of the Fintech ecosystem in Hong Kong, the SFC
launched a new licensing regime under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-
Terrorist Financing Ordinance for virtual asset trading platform (VATP) operators in
June. Two VATPs licensed under the Securities and Futures Ordinance have obtained
the SFC’s approval to provide services to retail investors. The SFC also published a
statement to warn VATPs of the potential legal and regulatory consequences of
improper practices and remind investors to be wary of the risks of trading virtual assets
on unregulated platforms.
On the enforcement front, charges were pressed against four individuals following
a joint operation conducted by the SFC and the Hong Kong Police Force against
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