Overseas investors gained direct access to the Chinese mainland's $10 trillion bond market on Monday, with the launch of the anticipated Bond Connect platform in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, Hong Kong Monetary Authority Chief Executive Norman Chan and People's Bank of China Deputy Governor Pan Gongsheng attended the launch ceremony at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

The bond trading link will allow qualified overseas investors to trade bonds on the mainland interbank bond market, including treasury bonds, local-government bonds, policy bank bonds, commercial bank bonds, corporate bonds and asset-backed securities.

Lam said the Bond Connect is a mutually beneficial collaboration project that is conducive to the opening up of the mainland's financial market and the consolidation of the special administrative region's status as an international financial center.

While Pan said it would further enhance the efficiency of mutual financial market access between the mainland and Hong Kong and broaden the capacity and scale of Hong Kong's financial market.

The aggregate trading volume of the Bond Connect was 7.05 billion yuan ($1.04 billion) on its first day, and it is expected to be a driving force for the country's financial opening-up in the future.