HKMA welcomes the launch of the Asian Bond Fund

The HKMA welcomes the launch of the Asian Bond Fund (ABF) by the EMEAP¹ Group, of which the Hong Kong Monetary Authority is a member. The ABF will have an initial size of about US$1 billion, and will be invested in a basket of US dollar denominated bonds issued by major Asian economies. All 11 members of the EMEAP Group will invest in the Fund at its launch. A joint EMEAP Press Statement on the launch of the ABF is attached.

Welcoming the launch of the ABF, Mr Antony Leung, the Financial Secretary, said, "the ABF represents a joint effort of regional central banks to promote the development of bond markets in the region. It helps promote the channelling of official reserves of Asian economies back to the region. I am pleased that, with the endorsement by the Exchange Fund Advisory Committee, the Exchange Fund will join the other EMEAP central banks in investing in the ABF, which should contribute to diversification and yield enhancement for the Exchange Fund's bond portfolios."

Mr Joseph Yam, Chief Executive of the HKMA, said, "the ABF is a concrete example of cooperation among EMEAP central banks to develop the Asian bond market. I would like to thank the EMEAP Working Group on Financial Markets for their innovation and hard work in bringing the ABF concept into fruition. The HKMA is honoured to have played an active role in this process and will continue to support and contribute to the future efforts in developing the regional bond market."

The EMEAP Working Group will proceed to study the extension of the ABF concept to include bonds denominated in regional currencies.

Attachment:
Joint EMEAP Press Statement (English only) (Word File, 22KB)

For further enquiries, please contact:

Hong Kong Monetary Authority
2 June 2003

  1. EMEAP, the Executives' Meeting of East Asia-Pacific Central Banks, is a co-operative organisation comprising central banks and monetary authorities of eleven economies: Australia, China, Hong Kong SAR, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.