Last year, the Shenzhen Municipal People's Government issued offshore RMB municipal government bonds in Hong Kong for the first time, testifying to our strength as a platform for issuing RMB bonds, including green bonds, enriching the product range of the local dim sum market and paving the way for other municipal or provincial governments to follow. We will actively promote Hong Kong’s bond market to markets that are looking to strengthen their ties with China, and attract sovereigns and other issuers from these regions to arrange and issue bonds in Hong Kong. The third way we can expand our offshore RMB market is by enhancing our own financial infrastructure. At the core of this effort is the HKMA’s programme to develop the Central Moneymarkets Unit (CMU) into a major international central securities depository (ICSD) in Asia, to better support the connectivity between the Mainland and international  financial markets in cross-border clearing, settlement and custodian operations.
So let me start with what Hong Kong and Mainland China have achieved together in the past year and how much progress we have made as an offshore RMB business hub. I will then elaborate on the opportunities in front of us because I am very confident that our collective efforts will further strengthen Hong Kong’s position as an international financial centre. Achievements in the past year on offshore RMB hub and RMB internationalisation development 5. This year, we celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) of the People’s Republic of China. Hong Kong is poised to enter a new era of opportunities as we better integrate into and align with the nation’s development. The National “14th Five-Year Plan” and the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area will herald massive opportunities for Hong Kong. In particular, in the 14th Five-Year Plan, the Central People’s Government  reaffirmed Hong Kong’s positioning as an international financial centre and, specifically, as a global hub for offshore RMB business. 6. There have been some important developments in this area that I am very pleased to share: First, the suite of mutual market access schemes was expanded in 2021 with the introduction of Southbound Trading under Bond Connect and Wealth Management Connect, and again this year with ETF Connect and Swap Connect. These schemes demonstrate the significant and ever-growing role Hong Kong plays in the two-way opening up of Mainland financial markets.