Participants attend a ceremony held by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited to launch the "northbound" mainland-Hong Kong bond connect in Hong Kong, south China, July 3, 2017.(Xinhua/Wang Shen)
BEIJING, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Net bond purchases of overseas institutional investors on China's interbank bond market reached 15.5 billion yuan in February, reported Xinhua Finance citing data released by China Foreign Exchange Trade System (CFETS) Tuesday.
In February, overseas institutions bought 523.4 billion yuan of bonds and sold out 507.9 billion yuan of bonds on the interbank bond market.
By channels of entry, 491.1 billion yuan of bond transactions were done through the China Interbank Bond Market Direct (CIBM Direct), resulting in 50.6 billion yuan of net buying through the scheme and 540.1 billion yuan of bond transactions were completed via the Bond Connect, ending in a net selling of 35.1 billion yuan.
In total, their cash bond turnover decreased 28 percent month on month to 1.0312 trillion yuan, accounting for about six percent of the comparable total in February.
By the end of February, 512 overseas institutional investors entered China interbank bond market via the CIBM Direct, four more than the comparable data by the end of January and 738 overseas institutions came via the Bond Connect, five more than the comparable data by the end of January.
Chart I: Different types of overseas institutional investors on China interbank bond market by end-February
Source: CFETS
Chart II: Bond holdings structure of overseas investors on China interbank bond market by end-February
Source: CFETS
Chart III: Terms to maturity of bonds held by overseas institutional investors on China interbank bond market by end-February
Source: CFETS
Chart IV: Settlement periods of cash bond trading by overseas institutions on China interbank bond market in February
Source: CFETS
Bond Connect was launched in July 2017, with northbound trading channel initially opening to allow overseas investors to invest in the Chinese mainland's interbank bond market. In September 2021, southbound trading channel made its debut, permitting mainland institutional investors to invest in overseas bonds through the Hong Kong bond market.
In February, southbound trading under the Bond Connect scheme facilitated mainland investors to have invested in bonds such as RMB- and U.S. dollar-denominated ones through the bond market in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
CIBM Direct created a route for international investors to access China interbank bond market. (Edited by Duan Jing with Xinhua Silk Road, duanjing@xinhua.org)
A single purchase
