Hong Kong Monetary Authority launches Phase 1 of the RMB Trade Financing Liquidity Facility and allocates RMB50 billion to participating banks

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has published the Phase 1 list of participating banks for its RMB Trade Financing Liquidity Facility (RMB TFLF), enabling those banks to apply for RMB funding from the HKMA within assigned quotas based on their provision of RMB trade finance to corporate customers. The RMB TFLF has a total size of RMB100 billion, with about RMB50 billion allocated to Phase 1 participating banks. Bank-specific quotas were set with reference to expected trade finance pipelines, existing scale of relevant business, and other factors. Implementation will be reviewed, including the facility’s operation, banks’ RMB trade finance activities and usage, and market development needs. Subject to facility operation and market demand, the HKMA plans to proceed with the next phase of quota allocation around the middle of the year, while banks not yet ready for Phase 1 are encouraged to prepare to join later phases.