Financial Secretary Paul Chan said on Thursday Hong Kong will issue a roadmap later in the day to spur the growth of fixed-income and currency (FIC) markets.

The roadmap will come as the city eyes a boost in yuan-denominated bonds to capture growing demand from global investors.

He signalled the moves at the inaugural Hong Kong Fixed Income and Currency Forum 2025, which was switched to an online event due to Super Typhoon Ragasa.

Addressing the event in a recorded video, Chan said the roadmap would cover 10 initiatives in four areas of focus, with the four being boosting primary market issuances, enhancing secondary market liquidity, expanding the offshore yuan business and building next-generation market infrastructure.

"This roadmap represents a shared commitment between the public and private sectors to reinforce Hong Kong's role as a premier FIC hub, ensuring that our markets remain competitive, inclusive and globally connected," he said.

"[But] the journey to building a world-class, globally competitive FIC market cannot be undertaken by any one party alone.

"While the government and regulators can lay the foundation, it is the market – issuers, investors, and intermediaries – that must bring it to life."

Noting that the FIC market is often a "less highlighted" area but with "compelling prospects", Chan said the issuance volumes of Asian international bonds have been growing at an average 16 percent annually in the past 15 years, far exceeding the global average of less than 4 percent.

Global bond issuance in Hong Kong, meanwhile, exceeded US$130 billion last year, and the city also coming up tops in Asia by accounting for almost 30 percent of the regional market in nine out of the past 10 years, he said, adding that 45 percent of the region's green and sustainable bonds had been arranged by the city.

Chan said that as the yuan gains traction in the world and as global investors seek more diversified investment products denominated in the currency, the city can seize the opportunity to explore more areas in which the yuan can be useful and develop yuan bonds.

Echoing Chan, Eddie Yue, chief executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, which will release the roadmap along with the Securities and Futures Commission, said the roadmap would also encourage the usage of new technologies across the board.

"As we look into the future, our goal is not simply to grow markets but also to enhance their quality, resilience and connectivity," he said in a video.

"This means ensuring that our markets can support innovation, whether in the form of new instruments, like tokenised bonds, or by integrating and embedding technologies across platforms, geographies, and asset classes, or by meeting the growing demand for green and socially responsible investments."