Hong Kong Monetary Authority's subsidiary CMUHK: Strong growth in first quarter bond primary market issuance activity

According to the latest report released by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's Central Moneymarkets Unit on April 29, the primary bond market issuance activity has shown strong growth. In the first quarter of 2026, new issuance activities through CMU continued to be robust. In addition to foreign currency fund bills and government bonds, the total number of new issuance bonds under custody and settlement reached 543. The total size of new issuance bonds reached HK$504.7 billion, an increase of 30% compared to the same period last year. The issuance of dim sum bonds in the first quarter of 2026 showed significant growth, with the total issuance size and number of issuances increasing by 46% and 45% respectively compared to the same period last year. In addition, the issuance of Hong Kong dollar bonds increased by 17% to HK$70.1 billion year-on-year, while the issuance of US dollar bonds also showed significant growth, with total issuance size and number of issuances increasing by 56% and 69% respectively quarter-on-quarter.