Hong Kong Celebrates Two Decades of Treasury Market Innovation

Hong Kong's financial community gathered to mark the 20th anniversary of the Treasury Markets Association (TMA) at a pivotal summit, reflecting on the remarkable evolution of the city’s treasury markets over the past two decades.

The event highlighted the transformation of key financial sectors, including the money, foreign exchange, and bond markets. Hong Kong’s Hong Kong dollar interbank market has more than doubled in average daily turnover over the past 20 years, while its offshore renminbi (CNH) market has grown in tandem with the city's rise as a global hub for RMB business. Milestones such as the introduction of the RMB real-time gross settlement system and the CNH HIBOR fixing have supported this development.

In the foreign exchange market, daily transactions ballooned more than six-fold since 2004, with Hong Kong now ranking fourth globally in FX trading volume. The USD/RMB pair alone has seen daily turnover surge nearly twentyfold, reflecting Hong Kong's deepening role in facilitating international RMB activity.

Hong Kong's bond market has also expanded rapidly, moving from a largely local arena to a sophisticated and diverse segment of the financial system. The outstanding amount of Hong Kong dollar debt securities soared from $664 billion in 2005 to over $2.8 trillion in 2024. The city has become a key center in Asia for G3 bond issuance and a leader in the offshore RMB bond market, with a broad array of issuers and growing prominence for green and digital bonds.

The TMA itself has played a crucial part in this journey, enhancing the professionalism of market practitioners, setting robust benchmarks, and fostering greater industry collaboration. Membership has grown steadily, and initiatives to raise standards and expand educational opportunities have brought new talent into the sector.

Looking ahead, the momentum continues as the HKMA and SFC have just published a coordinated fixed income and FX market development roadmap, developed with extensive industry input. The TMA is poised to support this future growth by channeling market perspectives and promoting policies to strengthen the efficiency and competitiveness of Hong Kong’s treasury markets.

The summit underscored the sustained leadership and innovation that have anchored Hong Kong’s reputation as a global financial center—setting the stage for even greater advances in the years to come.