The People’s Bank of China, together with the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, announced plans to broaden the product set under Swap Connect, the Mainland China–Hong Kong interest rate swap market link, by extending swap maturities and adding contracts referenced to the Loan Prime Rate. The next enhancements would extend interest rate swap contract tenors to 30 years and introduce swaps referenced to the Loan Prime Rate (LPR). The authorities also reported continued growth in Swap Connect activity since its launch on 15 May 2023 and noted that a May 2024 optimisation introduced swaps with payment cycles aligned to International Money Market settlement dates, back-starting swaps and a compression function. As of end-April 2025, Swap Connect involved 20 onshore quoting institutions and 79 offshore investors, with more than 12,000 CNY interest rate swap trades and around CNY 6.5 trillion in aggregate notional. Financial market infrastructure institutions in both jurisdictions will bring the new measures online progressively, with ongoing refinements to the mechanism based on operating experience.
Central Bank of the Republic of China 2025-05-15
People’s Bank of China and Hong Kong regulators plan Swap Connect expansion with 30-year tenors and LPR-referenced interest rate swaps
The People’s Bank of China, Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, and Hong Kong Monetary Authority plan to expand Swap Connect by extending swap maturities to 30 years and adding contracts linked to the Loan Prime Rate. Since its launch in May 2023, Swap Connect has seen significant growth, with over 12,000 trades and a notional value of CNY 6.5 trillion by April 2025. New measures will be implemented progressively, refined based on operational experience.