China plans to introduce a bond trading link between Hong Kong and the mainland by year-end, according to premier Li Keqiang.
根据中国总理李克强的说法，中国计划在年底前推出香港与中国内地债券交易互联机制。
Dubbed “Bond Connect”, the programme would operate alongside the existing Stock Connect system that allows international and mainland investors their only direct access to each others’ markets.
这一名为“债券通”的计划将与现有的两地股市互联机制一道运营，后者令国际投资者和中国内地投资者获得了直接进入彼此市场的唯一途径。
On Wednesday, the Chinese premier said: “We are preparing to implement for the first time this year a bond market connect between the mainland and Hong Kong,” which would allow “overseas capital to buy mainland bonds overseas for the first time”.
周三，李克强表示：“我们准备今年在香港和内地试行‘债券通’，也就是说允许境外资金在境外购买内地的债券，这是第一次。”
He added: “This will help Hong Kong maintain its status as an international financial centre, and provide Hong Kong investors with more options.”
他还表示：“这有利于维护香港国际金融中心的地位，有利于香港居民有更多的投资渠道。”
Significantly, Bond Connect would not require international investors to open accounts onshore, but rather allow them to trade mainland bonds from their Hong Kong accounts.
值得注意的是，“债券通”将不要求国际投资者在中国内地开设账户，而允许他们通过在香港的账户交易内地债券。
The scheme has long been on the wish list of Charles Li, the chief executive of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, who is keen to position the exchange as the financial securities gateway between China and the outside world.
长期以来，香港交易所(HKEx)行政总裁李小加(Charles Li)一直期望能够建立这样的机制。他渴望将港交所定位为中国与外部世界之间的金融证券门户。

The premier’s blessing gives the project a big push: it was a similar announcement from China’s Mr Li that signalled the green light for the Stock Connect programme three years ago.
中国总理的首肯对该计划来说是个巨大的推动：三年前李克强曾发布类似的声明，为“沪港通”开了绿灯。
The move is the latest in China’s efforts to attract international investors to its vast bond markets — the world’s third-largest, with some Rmb64tn ($9.3tn) of debt outstanding.
此举是中国吸引国际投资者投资其巨大的债券市场的最新努力。中国的债市规模为全球第三大，未偿债务约为64万亿元人民币（合9.3万亿美元）。
Last year, China eased the approvals process for foreign fund managers to buy Chinese bonds, and just last month it removed another stumbling block by allowing them to hedge the currency risk of those purchases onshore.
去年，中国放松了外国基金管理公司购买中国债券的审批程序。就在上月，中国还允许外国基金管理公司对冲它们在中国内地购买的债券的汇率风险，移除了另一块绊脚石。
However, foreigners still hold less than 2 per cent of Chinese debt.
不过，由外国资金持有的中国债务的占比仍不到2%。
With Bond Connect, “the aim is to provide cross-border cash bond trading and settlement connectivity with the mainland’s major onshore bond market infrastructures”, the HKEx chief said recently. “We are confident that we can deliver a unique value proposition to make existing markets connect better, without trying to reinvent the way that investors currently trade bonds.”
李小加最近表示，债券通机制“旨在连通内地主要在岸债券市场基础设施，提供跨境现货债券交易及结算”。“相信最后提出来的方案能够在不用改变投资者当前买卖债券模式基础上便可建立一个便捷的市场连通模式。”