Hong Kong Stock Exchange Options Clearing House: Accepting Chinese treasury bonds as non-cash collateral will be implemented from November 2

The Zhitong Finance App learned that with reference to the notice issued on September 25, 2026 (No.: PT/SCS-067/2026), it accepts Chinese treasury bonds as eligible collateral to meet deposit requirements. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange Options Clearing House (HKEx Options Clearing House) announced that the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission has approved the relevant rule amendments. The acceptance of Chinese treasury bonds as eligible non-cash collateral will be implemented from November 2, 2026.

The Chinese treasury bonds that will be accepted as eligible non-cash collateral are as follows:

bonds issued by the Ministry of Finance of the People's Republic of China and mainly sold on the international market (“Ministry of Finance bonds”);

Bonds traded on the Chinese interbank bond market, issued by the Ministry of Finance or policy banks of the People's Republic of China, and mainly sold in the domestic market.

According to the legal arrangement, Chinese treasury bonds will be submitted to the Stock Exchange Options Clearing House as collateral through a transfer of ownership. According to this, beneficial ownership of the relevant securities will be transferred to the Stock Exchange Options Clearing House.

If Chinese treasury bonds are delivered directly to the SEHK Options Clearing House by the customer of a settlement participant, the transfer will be deemed to be that the relevant securities are first transferred by the customer to the settlement participant by means of a transfer of ownership, and then transferred by the settlement participant to the SEHK Options Clearing House by means of a transfer of ownership.

Risk management arrangements

Non-cash collateral limit: Currently, settlement participants can use up to 50% of their deposit requirements using non-cash collateral. Chinese treasury bonds deposited as non-cash collateral will be subject to the same limits.

Concentration limits: Chinese treasury bonds accepted as collateral will be subject to concentration limits.

Deduction rate: According to current practice, the deduction rate will be determined according to the deduction rate method prescribed by the Stock Exchange Options Settlement.

Specific misdirection risk: Generally speaking, non-cash collateral involving specific misdirection risks will not be accepted. This may include securities issued by settlement participants or their affiliates (including their parent companies and subsidiaries).

In terms of financing fees, with effect from November 2, 2026, the financing fee for non-cash collateral (including Chinese treasury bonds) will be reduced from 0.25% to 0.15% per year, and calculated based on the value of non-cash collateral used to meet deposit requirements after applying the relevant deduction rate.