In alphabetical order, the magnificent seven are: Bank of China (Hong Kong), DBS Bank (Hong Kong), Bank of East Asia, Hang Seng Bank, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, Standard Chartered Bank, and Wing Lung Bank. I thank them sincerely for their participation as Retail Exchange Fund Notes Distributors. BIS Review 31/2005  1  Access for retail investors to the primary market of debt, not necessarily restricted to Exchange Fund Notes, is, of course, only part of our continuing efforts. To increase and sustain retail investor interest in bond products in general, we need also to provide convenient access to the secondary market at low transaction costs and reliable market information. But this is a subject for another occasion, after ideas, just recently discussed and endorsed by the new Financial Infrastructure Sub-Committee of the Exchange Fund Advisory Committee, mature and arrangements put in place, in collaboration with the industry. Allow me to conclude with a commercial targeted at retail investors. The Exchange Fund Notes are a very safe investment – you are putting your money with the Exchange Fund, which is managed by the HKMA. The Exchange Fund Notes provide you with a steady stream of fixed-interest income that is higher than interest on bank deposits. The Exchange Fund Notes are highly liquid – you can sell them any time you want. There are 26 market-makers appointed by the HKMA to make a market in Exchange Fund paper.
This refinement may mean a reduction in the frequency of issues open to retail investors compared with the experimental period, but it will enable the allocation of a larger portion of the selected issues for allotment to them. It will also facilitate more focused retail marketing for the relevant issues. The second refinement is the enhancement of price attractiveness for the retail investors. Exchange Fund Notes open to retail investors will be allotted to successful non-competitive bids at the lowest price, i.e. the highest yield, accepted at the competitive-bid tenders, rather than the average accepted price (or average accepted yield). In other words, the retail investors will be assured of getting the best price that institutional bidders are able to get. I am sure retail investors will welcome this. The third refinement is the strengthening of the distribution network. The number of Retail Exchange Fund Notes Distributors will be increased from three to seven. The extensive branch networks of the Distributor Banks and their sophisticated telephone and Internet banking facilities will, I hope, make it much easier for retail investors to gain assess to the primary market for Exchange Fund Notes. The large retail banks have in the past been criticised for not supporting the development of the retail debt market for fear of losing their retail deposits. Just by looking at the names of the magnificent seven you will realise how wrong that criticism has been.