HKEX's head of markets outlined growth plans for the exchange across fixed income, currencies and commodities, as well as market access improvements such as extending trading hours for derivatives.

Another March in the books and another new benchmark for record volatility, persistent threats to liquidity and surging trading volumes as market participants scrambled to navigate a tenuous geopolitical environment. This time it was the conflict in Iran that caused stock, bond and commodities volatility indices to skyrocket. Last year, of course, it was the Liberation Day tariff announcements; before that came the U.S. regional banking crisis, the start of the Russia-Ukraine war and the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

From China government bond futures to tokenisation, Hong Kong will need to step up to meet the demands of an increasingly event driven trading environment, 24/7 trading and a broader investor base.