Clearstream Banking Luxembourg and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) have announced their agreement to develop a direct link between the HKMA’s Central Moneymarkets Unit (CMU) and the settlement system of Clearstream Banking Luxembourg.
Scheduled to go live in January 2003, the new link will provide Asian investors with a window to clear, settle and hold Clearstream eligible debt securities via their CMU accounts. “The new link will significantly improve settlement efficiency, enabling Asian investors to trade international securities in a secure and robustly designed environment,” says a Clearstream spokesman. “In 1994, an indirect one-way link was established from Clearstream Banking Luxembourg to the CMU, enabling Clearstream Banking customers to clear and settle debt securities lodged with the CMU. This link has been operating successfully since launched and has attracted many overseas investors to Hong Kong’s debt market.”
Joseph Yam, Chief Executive of the HKMA, said: “Over the past few years, the HKMA has been collaborating with various bodies to further develop the Asian debt market by providing an efficient and secure securities settlement infrastructure for cross-border transactions. This new link between CMU and Clearstream is an important addition to Hong Kong’s cross-border settlement infrastructure. Hong Kong will be better placed to serve as the regional hub for the trading and settlement of international securities.”
Andr Roelants, President and CEO of Clearstream International, stated : “We are pleased with the establishment of this new link because it will further widen the international nature of our business and will enable us to strengthen the cross-border settlement infrastructure to provide a more robust, efficient, secure and cost-effective channel to settle cross-border securities transactions. We have had a physical presence in the Asia-Pacific region for over 12 years and have built excellent working relationships with all the major markets. This is another good example of how Clearstream facilitates market access through its infrastructure in a rapidly expanding market to create an innovative solution in response to customer demand.”