About CMU OmniClear 

About CMU OmniClear Limited
A Trusted Partner Uniting China and Global Bond Markets Within One Circle

Incorporated in Hong Kong in 2024, CMU OmniClear Limited (CMU OmniClear) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Exchange Fund. Since January 2025, CMU OmniClear has been carrying out the operations and business development activities of the Central Moneymarkets Unit (CMU) on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA).
​​​
CMU is a central securities depository (CSD) for debt securities in Hong Kong. We aspire to develop the CMU into a major international CSD in Asia, embodying reliability and excellence, encircling China and global bond markets within one seamless network.

The HKMA remains the owner and system operator of the CMU. Legal relationships with CMU participants and other system linkages remain with the HKMA, and decisions on policy and strategic development regarding CMU's activities and services are made by the HKMA.

The CMU System of the HKMA

Established in 1990, the Central Moneymarkets Unit (CMU) serves as the pillar of bond markets, ensuring secure and safe market operations essential for financial stability. Originally created to provide computerised clearing and settlement facilities for Exchange Fund Bills and Notes, the CMU extended services in December 1993 to other Hong Kong dollar debt securities, offering an efficient, safe, and convenient clearing and custodian system that brings market participants together within a unified circle.

In January 1996, the CMU service further extended to non-Hong Kong dollar debt securities, propelling Hong Kong's debt securities market with unparalleled connectivity and efficiency. Over the years, the CMU has evolved into the clearing and settlement system for debt securities denominated in Hong Kong dollars and other major currencies in Hong Kong, creating a continuous circle of trust and efficiency in the bond market.

Today, the CMU has developed various external links with regional and international central securities depositories for broader service coverage. Beyond settling debt securities, the CMU now offers an extensive range of post-trade and debt issuance services, providing members with a secure and efficient system across borders, unifying global bond markets into a dynamic, inclusive circle of opportunities.

Demonstrating relentless dedication to excellence, the CMU has been a member of the Asia-Pacific Central Securities Depository Group (ACG) since 2001. In 2024, the CMU joined the International Securities Services Association (ISSA) as a member organisation of the Board of Directors.

Understand more about what we do: Our Range of Services.

Hong Kong's Financial Infrastructure

The multi-currency, multi-dimensional payment and settlement platform of the HKMA, with extensive domestic and overseas system linkages, has helped maintain Hong Kong as a regional hub for payment and settlement of funds and securities (See diagram below).

Click to view original image

​​​​​CMU OmniClear is led by a Board of Directors. The Board has delegated the day to day operations of CMU OmniClear to the Management Committee.

The governance structure of CMU OmniClear is as follows:

Click to view original image

The Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) (formerly known as Committee on Payments and Settlement Systems (CPSS)) of the Bank for International Settlements and the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) jointly issued a disclosure framework and assessment methodology in April 2012 for their principles for financial market infrastructures (PFMIs), which is the latest international standards for financial market infrastructures (FMIs).

The disclosure framework (DF) is intended to promote consistent and comprehensive public disclosure by FMIs in line with the requirements of the PFMIs. The CMU is subject to the DF, and the disclosure report of the CMU is completed according to the disclosure template outlined in the DF.

Related Information and Websites