China's financial authorities have released regulations to optimize fund management requirements for foreign institutional investors in the country's bond market.

Southlink is a mechanism for mainland institutional investors to invest in the Hong Kong bond market through a link between the mainland and Hong Kong basic services institutions. Since its launch one year ago, Southbound Connect has witnessed a growing trading volume and increasingly active investors, which not only increases the investment channels for mainland institutional investors, but also helps to steadily promote the two-way opening of China's financial market.

As of the end of August, overseas institutions held 3.55 trillion yuan ($507.14 billion), or 2.5 percent, of the outstanding bonds in custody in China's bond market, according to the central bank.

NAFMII released new Guidelines Respecting Underwriting Due Diligence for Non-financial Enterprise Debt Financing Instrument (hereinafter referred to as the new Guidelines) in December, an effort to reinforce underwriting due diligence practices in light of recent years' development in the interbank bond market.

NAFMII will thoroughly implement the development concept of open-minded, strengthen cooperation with international institutions, and provide services for the opening-up of bond market.

Moscow Exchange plans to resume after-hours trading on the Equity & Bond Market, as well as pre-market trading on the Derivatives and FX Markets on 12 September 2022. This will mean trading will run for 12 hours on the FX Market, 14 hours on the Equity and Bond Markets and 15 hours on the Derivatives Market.

China has stepped up reform in its credit rating industry as new rules to improve standards and regulations of the sector took effect on Aug 6, amid the country's broader push to curtail financial risk and further unleash the potential of its huge bond market.

The proportion of AAA ratings in China's bond market, which represents the highest investment grade, reached 20 percent, higher than that of developed bond markets, which is less than 5 percent.

China decided in May to grant foreign investors access to the exchange bond market, saying the move is set to further facilitate foreign investments in the country and unify the cross-border management of funds.