🇨🇳🇪🇺 Europe Faces Heavy Costs Over Russian Asset Freeze as China Prepares to Pull $62 Trillion from EU Markets
Hong Kong is developing a new financial infrastructure platform to rival European securities depositories Euroclear and Clearstream, aiming to reduce reliance on Western systems, according to the Financial Times. The Hong Kong Exchange (HKEX) and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) are upgrading the Central Money Market Settlement System (CMU) into an international depository capable of managing cross-border transactions and multiple currencies, including the Chinese yuan.
This move coincides with China’s potential withdrawal of $62 trillion in securities from European markets. Key figures:
- China’s debt securities market: $25 trillion total, with $5 trillion managed by CMU.
- Euroclear: Administers $42 trillion in assets.
- Clearstream: Handles $20 trillion.
The shift underscores efforts to reshape global financial dependencies amid escalating geopolitical tensions.
- ukraine_watch