Consolidating Existing Strengths
Advance Internationalisation of the Renminbi
91. The Recommendations have called for advancing the internationalisation of the Renminbi (RMB) and pursuing greater openness of RMB capital accounts. We will leverage Hong Kong's unique strengths and proactively align with national development strategies. Specific measures include:
| (a) | doubling the size of the RMB Business Facility to RMB200 billion earlier this month to support financial institutions in facilitating the wider use of RMB by enterprises and customers in activities such as trade and cross‑boundary business; |
| (b) | promoting more convenient foreign exchange quotations and transactions between RMB and other regional currencies to reduce transaction costs; |
| (c) | issuing RMB bonds of different tenors on a regular basis to enrich product offerings in the offshore RMB market and improve the offshore RMB bond yield curve; |
| (d) | exploring with the industry the formation of the offshore RMB yield curve, and looking into specific measures to improve price discovery in the short-to-medium-term-interest-rate market; and |
| (e) | attracting high-quality issuers to increase RMB bond issuance in Hong Kong and tapping into emerging markets to bring more cross‑boundary RMB transactions to Hong Kong. |
92. To enrich mutual-market access, we will actively explore with the Mainland to expedite the issuance of Mainland government bond futures in Hong Kong, the inclusion of real estate investment trusts (REIT) under mutual access and the inclusion of a RMB trading counter under the Southbound trading of the Stock Connect. We will explore further enhancements to the Bond Connect.
Securities Market
93. Since the implementation of Severe Weather Trading arrangements by the HKEX in September 2024, the stock market has operated in inclement weather for seven trading days. The trading maintained market liquidity while generating stamp duty revenue of about $2.5 billion.
94. To continue enhancing the securities market, attracting issuers and boosting market efficiency, the HKEX will take forward the following measures:
| (a) | consult the market in the first quarter on the revision of listing requirements for enterprises with weighted voting right structures, facilitation of the secondary listing of overseas issuers, enhancement of the IPO process, and provision of greater flexibility for biotechnology and specialist technology companies applying for listing, etc.; |
| (b) | implement the enhanced structured product listing framework and put forward specific implementation proposals for the settlement cycle of T+1 for market consultation in the first half of this year; and |
| (c) | take forward board lot reforms in the securities market and launch the uncertificated securities market regime in collaboration with the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and the industry this year. |
95. We will also introduce the next stage of reforms, including enhancing the regulatory regime for listed companies, providing specific guidelines for overseas companies seeking secondary listing in Hong Kong, offering more overseas markets as recognised exchanges, and continuing to explore with the market the provision of an over‑the‑counter trading platform for delisted stocks or those requiring special handling.
Bond Market
96. The SFC and the HKMA are actively implementing the Roadmap for the Development of Fixed Income and Currency Markets announced last year. It includes boosting issuance in the primary market, enhancing liquidity in the secondary market, and expanding offshore RMB business. The electronic bond-trading platform will also be launched in the second half of this year, thereby reinforcing Hong Kong's position as a global fixed income and currency hub.
97. To promote innovation in the bond market, the Government issued the third batch of tokenised bonds with an issuance size of $10 billion in the fourth quarter last year. It marked the largest tokenised bond issuance in the world at the time. The option to settle via tokenised central bank money also laid the foundation for future integration with other forms of digital money. We will continue issuing tokenised bonds on a regular basis. The HKMA will also encourage more digital bond issuances in Hong Kong through the Digital Bond Grant Scheme.
Asset and Wealth Management Centre
98. The number of single-family offices in Hong Kong exceeds 3 300. To attract more family offices and funds to set up in Hong Kong, we will enhance our tax regime, including expanding the scope of "fund" to cover specific funds-of-one, as well as classifying digital assets, precious metals, specified commodities, etc. as qualifying investments eligible for tax concessions. We will introduce an amendment bill in the first half of this year, with a view to effecting the implementation from the year of assessment 2025/26.
99. The Government and the SFC will continue promoting the development of the REIT market. In addition to seeking early inclusion of REITs under mutual‑market access, we will introduce an amendment bill this year to enable the privatisation or restructuring of REITs. We will also provide a stamp duty waiver for the transfer of non‑residential properties into REITs seeking to list. The relevant amendment bill will be introduced in the first half of next year.
100. The Integrated Fund Platform under the HKEX will expand its services this year, covering fund sales procedures such as payment and settlement, to enhance market efficiency and lower transaction costs.
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