FINANCE

China to More Than Double Daily Quota for Northbound Swap Connect

Published: Sep. 25, 2025 3:47 p.m. GMT+8

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China’s central bank will more than double the daily net trading quota for its cross-border interest rate swap trading scheme, a senior official said, in the latest move to grant overseas investors greater access to its onshore financial markets.

The daily net limit for the Northbound Swap Connect will be raised to 45 billion yuan ($6.2 billion) from the current 20 billion yuan, People’s Bank of China (PBOC) Deputy Governor Zou Lan said Thursday at a forum in Hong Kong. The central bank will also expand the pool of eligible dealers and optimize their management.

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China’s central bank will raise the daily net limit for Northbound Swap Connect from 20 billion yuan to 45 billion yuan and expand dealer eligibility.
Swap Connect, launched in May 2023, has enabled over 15,000 transactions totaling 8.2 trillion yuan notional value; 1,170 overseas investors now hold 3.9 trillion yuan in Chinese bonds.
The PBOC aims to further boost foreign access, including supporting bond repurchase activities and introducing more offshore yuan assets in Hong Kong.

AI generated, for reference only

What Happened When

Before Bond Connect program was launched (date not specified, but must be before 2017)：: The number of overseas institutional investors and volume of Chinese bond holdings is established as a baseline for future comparison.

May 2023：: Swap Connect was launched, providing international investors with access to China’s onshore interbank interest rate swap market through Hong Kong.

First eight months of 2025：: Overseas institutional investors’ transactions of onshore bonds reached about 11.8 trillion yuan, with the Northbound Bond Connect accounting for about 7.2 trillion yuan.

End of August 2025：: About 1,170 overseas institutional investors held around 3.9 trillion yuan worth of Chinese bonds; among the world’s top 100 asset managers, more than 80 have entered China’s bond market.

September 25, 2025：: PBOC Deputy Governor announced that the daily net limit for the Northbound Swap Connect will be raised to 45 billion yuan from the current 20 billion yuan and management of eligible dealers will be optimized.

AI generated, for reference only