The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) signed an MoU on Friday to further solidify cooperation and connectivity between the financial services sectors of the two jurisdictions.
Under the MoU, the two authorities have agreed to establish connectivity between the debt capital markets and the related financial market infrastructures between Hong Kong and the UAE to facilitate cross-border debt securities issuance and investment activities.
“We aim at unlocking the potential of the two capital debt markets to allow seamless and cost-effective cross-border debt securities issuance, trading, investment, settlement, as well as collateral management,” said Khaled Mohamed Balama, the Governor of the CBUAE.
“The initiative will help the UAE become the gateway for issuers and investors in the MENA region to have efficient access to the China and Asian debt markets whilst allowing Chinese and Asian issuers and investors to gain direct access to the MENA debt market through the UAE.”
“The MoU, in particular, will further enhance cooperation and the exchange of expertise between the HKMA and the CBUAE in debt capital markets and reinforce Hong Kong’s strategic role as a gateway to both the Chinese and international debt markets,” said Eddie Yue, Chief Executive of the HKMA
“There is significant potential for the financial sectors of both sides to explore new business opportunities. We look forward to our continued collaboration with the CBUAE to strengthen investment and financial market connectivity between the Middle East and Asia.”
Following the first bilateral meeting in May 2023, the CBUAE and the HKMA have continued engaging in in-depth discussions covering several major areas, including cross-border debt capital market connectivity, financial infrastructure development, and investment outlook and opportunities in both the Middle East and North Africa region and Mainland China.
