On October 17, 2019, Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) jointly held the 32nd ASEAN+3 Bond Market Forum (ABMF) in Shenzhen. The event is a solid step by SZSE to implement major national blueprints such as the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area strategy and the building of Shenzhen demonstration pilot zone for socialism with Chinese characteristics. It is also an active exploration of SZSE to serve the Belt and Road Initiative and promote the opening up of China’s capital market at a higher level. Li Chao, Vice Chairman of China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), Wang Lixin, Deputy Mayor of Shenzhen, Wang Jianjun, President & CEO of SZSE, Satoru Yamadera, Director General of ADB’s Economic Research & Regional Cooperation Department, delivered speeches at the opening ceremony. Participants also included about 150 representatives from government departments, leading financial institutions and relevant industry organizations of ASEAN countries, China, Japan and South Korea, etc.

Li Chao pointed out that currently the CSRC is comprehensively deepening the reform of China’s capital market. It has launched a package of high-quality practical measures for opening up, with bond market reform and opening up as an important part. The CSRC will always adhere to market-oriented reform, rule of law and internationalization. It strives to gain impetus from reform and increase vitality through opening up, carry out extensive international exchanges and cooperation, and promote the implementation of various reform and opening up measures. Through this forum, the CSRC will strengthen cooperation with regulators of other ASEAN+3 countries, as well as play a more active role in maintaining regional financial stability, and promoting regional prosperity and development. It is expected to facilitate economic integration of regions of a higher level and provide new impetus to the growth of world economy.

Wang Lixin noted that Shenzhen, the “pilot ground” and “window” for China’s reform and opening up, has developed into an international innovation city of charm, impetus, vigor, and innovation. In recent years, it has achieved remarkable achievements in two-way opening up of capital markets and cross-border innovation service, etc. It is our hope that Shenzhen could take this forum as an opportunity to step up communication with cities in ASEAN, Japan and ROK, carry out practical and effective cooperation, and share opportunities for development in  the world .

Wang Jianjun pointed out that SZSE, upholding the vision of opening up, actively serves the development of Belt and Road initiative. Its cooperation with capital markets within ASEAN+3 region is dynamic and shows promising prospect. As an important platform in the region, SZSE strives to be a siginificant regional bond to foster the flow of factors, and make active contributions to advancing connectivity and mutual beneficial cooperation.

Satoru Yamadera mentioned that at present, Aisan economic development has maintained fast momentum of growth and Asian bond market is faced with enormous growth potential. The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area strategy provides regional economic cooperation with valuable historic opportunity. In this context, exchange bond market could play an important role. This forum, as an opportunity to foster bond market cooperation between China and relevant countries in the framework of ASEAN+3, will further benefit Asian economic integration and development.

ABMF was established in 2010 as an international forum under the framework of the ASEAN+3 Finance Ministers Meeting. Its main participants include bond market professionals from the ministries of finance, central banks, securities commissions, stock exchanges, securities depository institutions, international, regional or industrial multilateral organizations and financial institutions of ASEAN countries, China, Japan and South Korea. ABMF aims to conduct in-depth research on the characteristics and institutional arrangements of regional bond market, facilitate regulatory coordination and cross-border bond trading in the region, and promote the standardization and integrated development of the bond market in the region. The two-day forum focuses on topics including China's bond market, exchange bond market, progress of the Asian Bond Markets Initiative (ABMI), practices of green bond markets, construction of cross-border clearing infrastructure as well as bond market’s support for the development of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. It provides new ideas for promoting bond market cooperation under the ASEAN+3 mechanism.

As an important window and platform for the opening up of China's capital market to the world, SZSE actively serves the Belt & Road Initiative. It has established practical cooperation in diversified areas such as technology, business, and financial products with stock exchanges in ASEAN countries, Japan and South Korea, etc. SZSE’s investment and financing service platform for innovation and entrepreneurship (V-Next), already has its presence in 40 countries, covering almost all the capital markets in ASEAN countries. SZSE has made breakthrough progress in bond market development, with market scale rapidly growing, participants and product types continuously expanding. At present, the outstanding amount of SZSE bond market exceeds RMB 2 trillion, and the average daily trading value of repo transactions approaches RMB 100 billion. Since 2015, SZSE has issued more than RMB 5 trillion of fixed income products and served nearly 1500 issuers. SZSE bond market has formed a two-wheel driving pattern of interest rate bonds and credit bonds, and launched innovative products such as green bonds, bonds issued by innovative and start-up companies, intellectual property securitization products, and REITs with diversified underlying assets, etc.

At present, China endeavors to advance a new round of high-level opening up to the world, vigorously promoting the Belt & Road Initiative and making great efforts to build the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the Shenzhen demonstration pilot zone for socialism with Chinese characteristics. As such, more favorable conditions are created to accelerate the cooperation between China and ASEAN and East Asian capital markets. Faced with important historical opportunities for reform and development, SZSE will earnestly implement the CSRC’s various work plans on comprehensively deepening the reform of capital market. SZSE will take the forum as an opportunity to work with various regional market players to gather consensus, enhance mutual trust, to promote the opening up of exchange bond market, and jointly build an open and inclusive capital market service cooperation network. SZSE, as a resource allocation platform, will strengthen financial infrastructure cooperation, expand mutual market connectivity and accessibility, and improve the cross-border capital service mechanism, to serve the opening up and development of real economy and create a capital market system that matches Shenzhen’s status as China’s demonstration pilot zone.