XN000022-1994-10-10 — Page 17

MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 1994

16

EUROCLEAR LINKS UP WITH CMU IN HONG KONG

THE HONG

KONG EUROCLEAR

BOARD AND THE

OF MONETARY AUTHORITY (HKMA)

SOCIETE

HAVE COOPERATIVE DIRECTORS OF

CLEARANCE SYSTEM

EUROCLEAR SYSTEM AND THE AGREED ΤΟ ESTABLISH A LINK BETWEEN THE

FOR CENTRAL MONEYMARKETS UNIT (CMU), THE CENTRALISED CLEARING SYSTEM DEBT INSTRUMENTS OPERATED BY THE HKMA, ACCORDING TO A JOINT FROM HKMA AND EUROCLEAR.

STATEMENT

IN

LIMITED HAS BEEN TRANSACTIONS

THE EUROCLEAR

THE HONGKONG AND SHANGHAI BANKING CORPORATION ΤΟ PROCESS AGENT APPOINTED

OF EUROCLEAR AS THE CONNECTION WITH THOSE INSTRUMENTS CLEARED BY THE CMU. LINK WITH THE CMU IS EXPECTED TO BE OPERATIONAL BY DECEMBER 1994.

THIS LINK IS THE FIRST ESTABLISHED BY AN INTERNATIONAL CLEARING THE BASIS SYSTEM WITH A DOMESTIC DEBT CLEARING SYSTEM IN EAST ASIA. FOR THE LINK BETWEEN THE EUROCLEAR OPERATIONS CENTRE AND CMU IS, AMONG IN HONG OTHER THINGS, THE GREATLY INCREASING INTERNATIONAL INTEREST KONG DOLLAR DEBT SECURITIES AND THE VAST POTENTIAL OF THE CHINA MARKET.

THE LINK WILL FACILITATE OVERSEAS INVESTORS TO TRADE HONG DOLLAR DEBT INSTRUMENTS THROUGH THE VAST INTERNATIONAL NETWORK OF EUROCLEAR.

THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF THE HKMA, MR JOSEPH YAM, DEVELOPMENT OF LINKAGE BETWEEN THE CMU AND BUROCLEAR.

DEBT

KONG

THE

WELCOMED THE

OVERSEAS PART OF

"THE DEVELOPMENT OF SUCH A LINK REPRESENTS ANOTHER MILESTONE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE HONG KONG DEBT MARKET BY WIDENING THE INVESTOR BASE OF HONG KONG DOLLAR DEBT SECURITIES. THIS IS

EFFORTS

MARKET INFRASTRUCTURE TO DEVELOP HKMA'S ON-GOING PROMOTE THE GROWTH OF THE HONG KONG DOLLAR DEBT MARKET," HE SAID.

CMU,

THE

то

CLEARING AND STARTED MORE

THE

BOOK-ENTRY SAFEKEEPING, CENTRALISED SETTLEMENT SYSTEM FOR HONG KONG DOLLAR DEBT SECURITIES, THAN FOUR YEARS AGO FOR THE EXCHANGE FUND PAPER PROGRAMME.

SECURITIES AT RAPIDLY

IT

ENTENDED ITS SERVICE TO PRIVATE SECTOR DEBT THE BEGINNING OF 1994 AND THIS CMU SERVICE HAS DEVELOPED VERY SINCE THEN.

MOST

FINANCIAL

INSTITUTIONS

KONG HAVE DEALERS FOR THE

IN HONG OF THE PARTICIPATED IN THE CMU. CURRENTLY THERE ARE 131 RECOGNISED FOR THE TRADING OF EXCHANGE FUND PAPER AND 158 CMU MEMBERS TRADING OF PRIVATE SECTOR DEBT SECURITIES.

PAPER OF

AS AT END SEPTEMBER 1994, THE HOLDINGS OF EXCHANGE FUND (BILLS AND NOTES) AMOUNTED TO HK$50.3 BILLION (US$6.5 BILLION) AND PRIVATE SECTOR DEBT SECURITIES TO HK$19.3 BILLION (US$2.5 THE TURNOVER (SETTLEMENTS) OF EXCHANGE FUND PAPER WAS HK$23.5 (US$3.0 BILLION) PER DAY IN AUGUST AND A RECORD HIGH OF HK$60 (US$7.7 BILLION) WAS ACHIEVED ON JULY 28, 1994.

BILLION).

BILLION BILLION

AND SETTLEMENT THE EUROCLEAR SYSTEM IS THE LARGEST CLEARANCE

TRADED DEBT AND EQUITY SECURITIES. SYSTEM FOR INTERNATIONALLY EUROCLEAR PARTICIPANTS CAN CONFIRM, CLEAR AND SETTLE TRADES BY BOOK- SECURITIES ENTRY IN ANY OF 29 CURRENCIES BY SIMULTANEOUS TRANSFER OF AGAINST PAYMENT.

/IN ADDITION