London ETO Supports Musicus Society and English Chamber Orchestra's Hong Kong-London Cross-Cultural Collaboration in UK

London ETO supports Musicus Society and English Chamber Orchestra's Hong Kong-London cross-cultural collaboration in UK

The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London (London ETO) supported Musicus Society's cultural exchange tour in partnership with the English Chamber Orchestra (ECO), which took place from July 1 to 6 (London time).

The tour brought together ten talented Hong Kong students aged 12 to 21 for a week of enriching musical learning and cultural exchange activities in London. During their stay, the students participated in a range of activities, including a joint string ensemble with students from the United Kingdom (UK) at St. Paul's Church, professional coaching sessions led by musicians from the ECO, and visits to renowned cultural venues such as the Royal Albert Hall and the Royal College of Music Museum.

The highlight of the tour was a public concert at the historic St. Paul's Church at Covent Garden, London in the evening of July 5(London time). The performance featured a joint string ensemble comprising the ten Hong Kong students from Musicus Society and 11 students from the UK, under the guidance of professional musicians from the ECO. Around 150 guests attended the concert, which presented a programme featuring iconic works by renowned composers such as Bach, Holst and Mozart.

The Director-General of the London ETO, Miss Fiona Chau, addressed the audience at the public concert. She said, "We are delighted to support Musicus Society's cultural exchange tour in the UK. The tour provides our young musicians with valuable international learning opportunities, enabling them to perform alongside their counterparts in the UK and build lasting friendships through music. It also serves to strengthen the cultural ties between Hong Kong and the UK."

"Such exchanges showcase Hong Kong's East-meets-West character and its vibrant cultural landscape. By embracing international collaboration and nurturing home-grown talents, Hong Kong is well-positioned to emerge as an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange, in line with the vision set out in the National 15th Five-Year Plan," she said.

Founded in 2010, Musicus Society is a registered charity in Hong Kong dedicated to promoting cross-cultural collaboration of music internationally through performances and the nurturing of the next generation of talent.

The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London supported the Musicus Society's cultural exchange tour in partnership with the English Chamber Orchestra from July 1 to 6 (London time). Photo shows the tour members performing a string ensemble with local students and musicians from the United Kingdom at the historic St. Paul's Church at Covent Garden, London, in the evening of July 5 (London time). Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London (London ETO) supports Musicus Society's cultural exchange tour in partnership with the English Chamber Orchestra from July 1 to 6 (London time). The highlight of the tour was a public concert held at the historic St. Paul's Church at Covent Garden, London, in the evening of July 5 (London time). Photo shows the Director-General of the London ETO, Miss Fiona Chau (left), delivering a pre-concert speech. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London (London ETO) supports Musicus Society's cultural exchange tour in partnership with the English Chamber Orchestra from July 1 to 6 (London time). Photo shows the Director-General of the London ETO, Miss Fiona Chau (front row, first left), a representative of Musicus Society, and ten Hong Kong students of the tour at the St. Paul's Church at Covent Garden, London. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

New Measures to support development of Hong Kong's fixed income and currency market and offshore Renminbi business

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), the People's Bank of China (PBoC) and the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) announced today (July 7) a series of new measures to deepen the financial co-operation between Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland, support the development of Hong Kong's fixed income and currency (FIC) market and offshore Renminbi (RMB) business, and reinforce Hong Kong's position as an international financial centre. These measures include:

1. supporting the collaboration of financial infrastructure institutions in Hong Kong and Chinese Mainland to develop a Hong Kong FIC electronic trading platform;
2. further enhancing and expanding the Southbound Bond Connect, including increasing the annual investment quota, developing bond repurchase (repo) business using Southbound Bond Connect bonds as collateral, expanding the product scope to cover products with HKD bonds and RMB bonds as underlying assets, connecting to the Macao bond market, and enhancing the management of Southbound Bond Connect market makers;
3. supporting the inclusion of onshore bonds issued by the Ministry of Finance and Mainland policy banks that are held under Northbound Bond Connect as eligible margin collateral at the HKFE Clearing Corporation and the SEHK Options Clearing House;
4. enhancing the Northbound Bond Connect operational arrangement to extend the settlement time and improve efficiency;
5. further enhancing the Swap Connect to include the interbank Seven-Day Fixing Depository-Institutions Repo Rate (FDR007) as a reference rate; and
6. supporting the launch of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited Five-Year China Government Bond Futures in Hong Kong on August 3.

Building on this, the HKMA also announced five measures to support the development of the offshore RMB market and strengthen Hong Kong's role as a leading offshore RMB business hub, thereby enabling greater outreach to other regions and enhancing support for the real economy. These measures, underpinned by strong support from the PBoC, address industry suggestions for developing the offshore RMB market. These include:

1. increasing the size of the HKMA's RMB Business Facility from RMB200 billion to RMB500 billion and extending tenors to include nine-month, two-year and three-year, effective on July 10;
2. exploring to introduce a tendering mechanism of seven-day offshore RMB liquidity;
3. exploring the issuance of offshore RMB short-term debt instruments to support the building of the offshore RMB yield curve;
4. promoting the development of a bilateral currency transaction framework between Indonesian Rupiah and offshore RMB; and
5. issuing good practices to banks to promote RMB adoption.

The Chief Executive of the HKMA, Mr Eddie Yue, said, "We are pleased to announce this series of measures, which will further deepen cross-boundary financial co-operation, strengthen financial market connectivity between Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland, promote the development of Hong Kong's fixed income and currency market, and reinforce Hong Kong's position as an offshore RMB business hub and international financial centre. These measures are the result of concerted efforts of the HKMA, the PBoC and other relevant financial regulatory authorities in Hong Kong and on the Chinese Mainland. We will continue to work closely with the relevant regulatory authorities, the industry and financial infrastructure institutions to ensure timely and smooth implementation of the measures, and explore further enhancements."

Source: AI-found images