On November 14, the Bond Market Association will start the three-day Global Bond Summit at the newly opened Four Seasons Hotel in Hong Kong. The Conference will take a broad look at some of the major trends at work in the global bond markets, with an entire day dedicated to Asia. FinanceAsia.com spoke with Manfred Schepers, Head of the Bond Markets Association International about what the conference entails.
Why is the Bond Market Association hosting this conference?
We are increasingly realizing that in a market where there is a large public sector element, it is far more efficient to conduct it under the auspices of an industry body rather than either a private firm or a media provider. The summit will provide a platform for both public and private bodies to come out here, to Hong Kong, under the wings of a neutral body.
What are the specific issues that this year's conference will address?
The conference is split into two major themes; the first day will primarily focus on the Asian markets, while days two and three will look at more global government focused issues.
It is no great secret that Asia still remains underdeveloped in terms of the debt capital markets, and nowhere more so that China. So one of the key themes of the conference will be to determine what is necessary to build an efficient primary and secondary market in Asia. The Monday (November 14) is intended to highlight where Asia is as a region in terms of the development of both local and pan-Asian bond markets, and secondly to discuss what are the building blocks necessary to further develop those markets. So we will be discussing the further advancement of liquid benchmarks, settlement infrastructure, legal and regulatory frameworks and what direction the market will take once those structures are firmly established.
In terms of the global government bond sessions (November 15 & 16), these will be divided into an economist panel, which will look at, on the one had, issues that are inherent to individual markets, as well as give an overview on the global markets as a whole. This panel will look at the effects of the twin US deficits, the build-up of reserves in the Asian economies and their growth in savings rates, and by contrast the negative savings rates in the US.
Who are some of the featured speakers at the conference?
We have Joseph Yam, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority; Frederick Ma, secretary for financial services and the Treasury for the Government of Hong Kong; Haruhiko Kuroda, President and Chairman of the Asian Development Bank; Randal Quarles, under-secretary for domestic finance for the US Treasury; Jeff Huther, director of the Office of Debt Management at the US Treasury and Rene Karsenti, director general of the European Investment Bank.
How do you ensure that you provide a local these to the conference, including Asian delegates, topics and themes?
The themes and issues that in the conference or in any of the panels are generally global topics that resonate equally in the US, European and Asian markets. Attendance tends to vary depending on where this conference is held. But it is imperative to ensure that the conference have a number of special interest sessions that cater to the local markets.
Currently, there are a lot of things happening in Asia and there is a lot of global interest in the Chinese markets, in particular. So it was important to ensure that the conference address the growth and development of these markets.
