On 17 February 2023, the People's Bank of China (PBoC) issued for public comments the Interim Measures for the Administration of Interconnection and Cooperation between the Interest Rate Swap Markets of the Mainland and Hong Kong (Draft for Comments)(the "Draft Swap Connect Measures"). The public comment period is open until 4 March 2023.

Soliciting public comments for the Draft Swap Connect Measures is the latest move since the PBoC, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) released a joint announcement on 4 July 2022, which officially confirmed the future launch of the Swap Connect (the "Joint Announcement"). According to PBoC in a separate explanatory statement on the Draft Swap Connect Measures, the Swap Connect initiative is designed to facilitate the participation of offshore investors in the onshore RMB interest rate swap (IRS) markets, considering that RMB interest risk management needs of overseas investors have been steadily increasing in recent years in response to the constant improvements to the opening-up of China Inter-bank Bond Market (CIBM).