Bloomberg to Launch Trading Platform for Hong Kong Bonds

HONG KONG, Dec. 10 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Bloomberg, the leading data, analytics and news provider, today announced the launch of the Bloomberg E-Bond platform for Hong Kong Government Exchange Fund Bills and Notes (HK EFBN) on the BLOOMBERG PROFESSIONAL(R) service.

Jointly developed by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), Bloomberg and the Hong Kong eligible market maker community, the Bloomberg E-Bond platform for HK EFBN is part of an overall effort by HKMA to enhance the sophistication and efficiency of Hong Kong's financial markets. This initiative will provide Hong Kong's HK$141bln sovereign bond market with improved trading volumes. The Bloomberg E-Bond platform for HK EFBN will go live on 11 December 2007.

Using Bloomberg E-Bond for HK EFBN, last-traded prices and trade volumes by Hong Kong eligible market makers are automatically and instantly available via the BLOOMBERG PROFESSIONAL service. Bloomberg E-Bond for HK EFBN also features a quote-driven electronic order book for price providers to leave their bids and offers. By publishing pre-trade prices, this enhancement brings the market to an even higher level of transparency.

"With Bloomberg E-Bond, eligible Hong Kong users benefit from a flexible, commission-free dealing, trade capture and reporting mechanism while seamlessly offering global investors and market oversight entities a real-time view of price quotations and market activity for HK EFBN. " said Gerard Francis of Bloomberg. "This initiative represents a milestone for Hong Kong's capital markets and will play a key role in fostering price transparency and liquidity in financial markets in the region."

Bloomberg E-Bond for HK EFBN is available to qualified users via the function EFBN< GO > on the BLOOMBERG PROFESSIONAL(R) service and is made available in Hong Kong by Bloomberg Tradebook Hong Kong Limited pursuant to an Automated Trading Services (ATS) authorisation by the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong (SFC).

About Bloomberg E-Bond

Bloomberg E-Bond, available to qualified users of the BLOOMBERG PROFESSIONAL(R) service via the main menu function EB < GO >, is a global electronic trading system for bonds and treasury bills. Bloomberg E-Bond offers a unique multi-dealer Request For Quote ("RFQ") and anonymous quotation bulletin board, along with Straight-Through-Processing ("STP") features and real-time market activity displays. The Bloomberg E-Bond platform offers trading in bonds and treasury bills without transaction fees and will play a key role in fostering price transparency and liquidity in financial markets in Asia.

With Bloomberg E-Bond's RFQ module, market-makers are able to request for market quotes from multiple counterparties and are able to effectively handle multiple transactions at any given time in an active market.

Another module of Bloomberg E-Bond allows dealers to send orders in response to anonymous quotations. This module can be used separately from the RFQ module and contains an individual counterparty credit database set by each dealer which reveals the identities of the counterparties to a proposed trade.

In addition to a secondary market trading platform, Bloomberg also offers its Bloomberg Auction System to qualified participants, allowing government debt issuers to conduct their primary market auctions via the same platform. Consolidating primary and secondary market trading mechanisms can reduce the costs borne by dealers for participation and integration for Straight-Through Processing ("STP") purposes. With Bloomberg's widely distributed technology, including the use by many Primary Dealers of the Bloomberg position-keeping and risk-management system (TOMS), Bloomberg E-Bond offers STP with no transaction fees and minimal implementation and integration costs for banks. As Bloomberg E-Bond is adopted by more countries that seek to develop more cross-border flow, the efficiencies of the platform should continue to grow in value.

About Bloomberg

Bloomberg is the leading global provider of financial data, news and analytics. The BLOOMBERG PROFESSIONAL(R) service and Bloomberg's media services provide real-time and archived financial and market data, pricing, trading, news and communications tools in a single, integrated package to corporations, news organizations, financial and legal professionals and individuals around the world. Bloomberg's media services include the global BLOOMBERG NEWS(R) service with more than 2,300 professionals in over 130 bureaus worldwide; the BLOOMBERG TELEVISION(R) 24-hour business and financial network produced and distributed worldwide on eleven channels in seven languages; and BLOOMBERG RADIO(SM) services providing up-to-the-minute news on XM, Sirius and WorldSpace satellite radio globally and on WBBR 1130AM in New York. In addition, Bloomberg publishes BLOOMBERG MARKETS(R) magazine and BLOOMBERG PRESS(R) books for investment professionals. Bloomberg Tradebook Hong Kong Ltd is an ATS provider authorised by the SFC and a money broker licensed with the HKMA. For more information please visit http://www.bloomberg.com.

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