Hong Kong’s next phase of offshore RMB growth

New policy measures could deepen offshore RMB funding, strengthen liquidity and widen access to Hong Kong’s bond market.

13 October 2026

6 mins

Corporate & investment bankingGlobal MarketsGlobal research

Standard Chartered’s Renminbi Globalisation Index (RGI) points to growing momentum across the channels that support international RMB use. Developed by our Global Research team and available to Standard Chartered clients, the Index highlights recent gains in cross-border payments, foreign holdings of onshore assets and Dim Sum bonds show how that momentum is broadening. Hong Kong’s 2026 policy package could help drive the next stage, with targeted measures designed to deepen offshore funding, widen market access and strengthen liquidity.

What changed in 2026

Hong Kong’s first Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development, covering 2026 to 2030, sets a broader direction for the city’s economic and financial development, including efforts to strengthen offshore RMB liquidity. Alongside this longer-term agenda, recent developments covered in the RGI note focus more directly on offshore RMB funding and market liquidity, including measures to deepen the Dim Sum bond market and expand the Renminbi Business Facility (RBF).

The recently revamped RGI, Standard Chartered’s proprietary tracker of international RMB usage, rose to approximately 235 in July 2026, up from 202.8 in end-2025 and more than doubled from 2015. Its five components cover deposits, cross-border payments, foreign exchange activity, Dim Sum bonds and investments. The latest increase was supported by cross-border payments, foreign holdings of onshore assets and Dim Sum bonds, several of the channels targeted by the policy package.

The package includes an increase in the RBF from RMB200 billion to RMB500 billion, new nine-month, two-year and three-year tenors, and a proposed tender mechanism for seven-day offshore RMB liquidity. It also supports more regular Dim Sum issuance across a wider range of maturities, the inclusion under Southbound Bond Connect of products that reference Hong Kong dollar and RMB bonds as underlying assets, and the development of an offshore RMB bond index.

Against that backdrop, the policy package shifts the story from evidence of growing market activity to the infrastructure that could sustain it. Longer-duration financing, short-term liquidity, stronger pricing references and wider market access each address a different constraint on the offshore RMB ecosystem.

Why the RMB bond market reforms matter

Offshore RMB bonds, commonly known as Dim Sum bonds, are RMB-denominated bonds issued outside mainland China. The new policy direction calls for a larger and more regular supply across a broader range of tenors, supported by high-grade sovereign, institutional and corporate issuers.

A wider maturity range can help establish clearer pricing references across the yield curve. For issuers, this can make it easier to assess where offshore RMB funding fits alongside other currency options. For investors, a broader set of maturities and issuers can create more choice when building RMB allocations.

The planned inclusion under Southbound Bond Connect of products that reference Hong Kong dollar and RMB bonds as underlying assets could expand the range of instruments available to market participants. A proposed offshore RMB bond index would add a consistent reference for tracking market performance and could support the development of index-linked products.

Collateral use is another part of the picture. The Five-Year Plan encourages greater use of RMB bonds as collateral. As eligible assets gain more financing and margin uses, their value can extend beyond investment exposure into day-to-day liquidity management.

What the expanded RBF changes

The RBF provides participating banks with RMB funding to support client financing. Its scope expanded from trade finance to include working capital and capital expenditure loans from December 2025. The 2026 measures add greater scale and a wider set of maturities.

Increasing the RBF to RMB500 billion expands the pool of liquidity available to participating banks. Adding nine-month, two-year and three-year tenors also gives banks more scope to match funding periods with the underlying use of proceeds. A company financing capital expenditure, for example, may consider a different funding horizon from one managing a shorter working capital cycle.

The proposed seven-day offshore RMB liquidity tender addresses a separate need. While the expanded RBF supports financing over longer periods, a short-term tender mechanism can add another channel for immediate liquidity management. Together, the measures create a more graduated framework across short and longer funding periods.

Standard Chartered has participated in the RBF and has executed RMB financing transactions in Hong Kong, alongside intragroup financing transactions in our network. These examples show how the facility can support financing linked to regional business activity.

How the measures work together

Together, the measures address the market as a connected system. More regular issuance and a wider range of tenors can deepen the supply of offshore RMB assets; broader access and a bond index can support participation and price discovery; greater collateral use can increase those assets’ practical utility; and expanded long- and short-term liquidity channels can support offshore RMB financing and market liquidity.

Each measure addresses a separate market function, from issuance and pricing to collateral and liquidity. Combined, they could make offshore RMB funding easier to evaluate and use across a wider range of transactions.

Taken together, these developments could make offshore RMB funding more accessible and practical across a wider range of uses. As Karen Ng, Global Head of RMB Internationalisation Engagement at Standard Chartered, explains:

Hong Kong’s 2026 measures address several practical questions at once: how offshore RMB funding is priced, how long liquidity can be accessed, and how RMB bonds can be used across investment and collateral.

Karen Ng

Global Head, RMB Internationalisation Engagement

Karen also highlighted that this combination could make the market more workable for a wider range of issuers and institutions.

A policy package focused on market usability

Hong Kong’s 2026 measures provide a specific roadmap for several of the market developments tracked by the RGI. The focus is practical: a larger liquidity facility, more funding tenors, an additional short-term liquidity channel, broader bond market access and new pricing infrastructure.

For issuers, treasurers and financial institutions, the RGI provides a way to track where international RMB usage is gaining traction. The policy measures add context to that market signal by showing how Hong Kong is strengthening the infrastructure around issuance, investment, collateral and liquidity. The broader measures provide more options to satisfy each organisation’s funding needs, currency exposures, eligible collateral and China-linked flows.