The Hong Kong Monetary Authority aims to launch renminbi settlement of Hong Kong-listed stocks around the middle of the year, as part of the financial hub's efforts to promote renminbi internationalization, the head of the HKMA said on Tuesday.

Eddie Yue, chief executive of the HKMA, said a lot of listed companies have shown interest in participating in the renminbi settlement scheme, which will enrich the pool of offshore renminbi assets and boost enterprises' willingness to use the renminbi in trade.

Regulators in the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong will work closely to kick off trading through the Swap Connect as soon as possible to provide overseas investors in the onshore bond market with an effective tool to hedge against interest rate risks, Yue said.

Efforts will also be made to launch government bond futures in Hong Kong, expand the Bond Connect program to facilitate overseas investors' access to bonds traded in the mainland's exchange market and study the cross-border use of the digital yuan, he said.

Yue made the remarks while addressing the 2023 Annual Conference of China Society for Finance and Banking/China Monetary and Financial Forum in Beijing, themed Financial Sector's Role in Promoting the Chinese Path to Modernization.