HONG KONG, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- The opening of the annual maritime week on Sunday and the launch of the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited's (HKEX) offshore renminbi bond index scheduled for Monday highlighted the value-added development of Hong Kong's financial and trade sectors, said Paul Chan, financial secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government.
The HKEX Offshore RMB Bond Index, which includes over 300 dim sum bonds, or offshore renminbi bonds issued in Hong Kong, showed that Hong Kong's dim sum bond market has grown large enough to warrant its own benchmark, Chan wrote in his blog on Sunday.
Dim sum bond issuance has seen a notable increase since 2026, accounting for 38 percent of total bond issuance in Hong Kong in the first three quarters of this year. This gave RMB-denominated bonds the biggest share in Hong Kong's bond market.
Chinese mainland tech firms, foreign governments and overseas financial institutions are warming up to dim sum bonds as an important financing vehicle, said Chan.
The HKEX index will serve as a reference for fund management firms to issue index funds and exchange-traded fund products, said Chan, adding that it will also be a barometer for global investors to gauge market trends when they invest in RMB-denominated assets.
As firms and investors worldwide are looking to reduce risks and diversify their assets at a time of heightened geopolitical tension and protectionism, Chan said that the RMB is being used more often, citing data like the 20-percent year-on-year increase in outstanding offshore RMB loans in the first three quarters.
Since much of the offshore RMB is used in global trade and global shipping carries over 80 percent of global trade, Chan said that Hong Kong's strengths in finance and shipping can complement each other well as the city becomes an even more trustworthy "super-connector" in an increasingly fragmented world. ■
