The Seminar on Financial Infrastructure jointly organised by the People's Bank of China (PBoC) and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) was held in Beijing on 6 June. The Seminar aims at sharing experience of the financial infrastructures on the Mainland and in Hong Kong, and further reinforcing co-operation between the two places in respect of the development of financial infrastructure. Mr Zhou Xiaochuan, Governor of the PBoC and Mr Joseph Yam, Chief Executive of the HKMA delivered speeches at the Seminar. The Seminar was attended by over 300 participants, including senior officials and department heads of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, the China Insurance Regulatory Commission, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, the National Council for Social Security Fund, and various financial institutions.
In his speech, Governor Zhou Xiaochuan pointed out that the development of financial infrastructure in China, in particular payment and settlement systems, had made remarkable achievements in recent years. Financial institutions and the financial markets were offered safe and efficient payment and settlement services. However, with the rapid expansion of China's financial industry and global economic integration, new requirements for and challenges to financial infrastructure emerged. China's financial industry should learn from the experiences of its counterpart in Hong Kong in avoiding settlement risk, improving settlement efficiency and meeting market demands. At the same time, cross-border co-operation in financial infrastructure should be strengthened so as to further develop the financial infrastructure on the Mainland and make greater contribution to China's economic development. He pointed out that, as China's financial and economic environment was changing rapidly, new trends and issues concerning the development of payment and settlement systems, which formed the core of financial infrastructure, should be examined and considered thoroughly. These issues included the functioning of large-value payment systems; the improvement of laws and regulations governing payment and settlement systems; new challenges to the operation and supervision of payment and settlement systems brought about by cross-border financial activities; and co-ordination between large-value payment system and securities settlement systems.
Joseph Yam said at the Seminar that Hong Kong had been devoting a great deal of effort to developing financial infrastructure, and had a multi-dimensional and multi-currency payment, settlement and custodian system which met the world's most advanced standards. The system provided safe, robust, efficient and comprehensive settlement services. The platform had gradually become a hub for processing cross-border fund transfers in the region. He hoped that Hong Kong's financial infrastructure could contribute to the Mainland's financial market reform, in particular its reform of the foreign exchange market.
The PBoC and the HKMA will hold another Seminar in Shanghai on 7 June, offering an opportunity for market participants in Shanghai to exchange views on the subject.
People's Bank of China
Hong Kong Monetary Authority
6 June 2006
PBoC Governor Zhou Xiaochuan delivers a speech at the Seminar on Financial Infrastructure held in Beijing
HKMA Chief Executive Joseph Yam delivers a speech at the Seminar on Financial Infrastructure held in Beijing
From left to right: Mr Y K Choi, HKMA Deputy Chief Executive; Mr He Guangbei, Vice Chairman and Chief Executive of Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited; Mr Peter Wong, Chairman of Hong Kong Association of Banks and Executive Director of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited; Mr Peter Sullivan, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited; and Mr Joseph Yam, HKMA Chief Executive.
