HONG KONG, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government on Wednesday welcomed a joint announcement issued by the People's Bank of China and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority that Southbound Trading under Bond Connect will be launched on Sept. 24.

Southbound Trading will allow mainland investors to invest in Hong Kong's bond market through connection between the financial infrastructure services institutions of the two places.

Chief Executive of the HKSAR Carrie Lam said launching Southbound Trading under Bond Connect to complete the two-way connection of the bond markets will promote further mutual access between the two financial markets, set a new milestone for meeting the objectives laid down in the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) for national socio-economic development, and reinforce Hong Kong's status as an international financial center.

"The National 14th Five-Year Plan expresses staunch support for Hong Kong to strengthen its functions as a global offshore Renminbi business hub, an international asset management center and a risk management center," Lam said.

Lam added that the Northbound Trading under Bond Connect with foreign holding of mainland onshore bonds increased from about 880 billion Renminbi (136.81 billion U.S. dollars) in 2017 to 3,800 billion Renminbi (590.76 billion U.S. dollars) as at August this year and the average daily turnover increased by 17 times during the same period.

Lam said Hong Kong will continue to fully leverage its unique advantages and capitalize on development opportunities brought by the 14th Five-Year Plan, the new development pattern of "dual circulation" of domestic and international markets and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

"Our goals are to actively integrate into the national development and contribute to the internationalization of the mainland's capital market," she said.

Paul Chan, financial secretary of the HKSAR, said Hong Kong has been striving to deepen the mutual market access with the mainland to further strengthen its role in connecting the financial markets in the mainland and the rest of the world.

"The launch of Southbound Trading under Bond Connect will expand the product suite of the Connect family. It provides an effective channel for qualified onshore investors to make diversified asset allocation, and at the same time presents enormous opportunities for Hong Kong's financial industry," Chan said.

Chan pointed out that the move will further underline the unique function of Hong Kong in connecting mainland capital and the wide range of products in the international market.

"Not only would this enhance the attractiveness of Hong Kong as a bond issuing platform and the liquidity of the bond market in Hong Kong, but also further facilitate the progress of Renminbi internationalization," he said.