Stocks News
- China still finetuning plan for residents to buy HK shares
Date: 10-Sep-2007 Sources: (Xinhua Online)
BEIJING, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- China announced a plan to allow individual investors to buy Hong Kong-listed shares two weeks ago. The plan is still being fine tuned for now.
We are still improving the details of the regulation, Friday's Shanghai Securities News quoted Shang Fulin, chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission as saying.
At the ongoing World Economic Forum in Dalian, Shang said the plan would be conducted at a small scale in the early stage and would have 'limited ' impact on mainland A-share market.
The scheme is delayed due to some 'technical problems', said sources with the China Banking Regulatory Commission, the national banking regulator.
Last month, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) announced that mainland individuals could directly invest on Hong Kong stock market amid efforts to cut the country's huge forex reserve and excessive liquidity.
So far, the authorities have set three pilot areas including Tianjin, Shanghai and Shenzhen, according to the newspaper.
But it yet to be announced whether investors should have a minimum of 300,000 yuan to open trading accounts and when the plan will be crystallized, it reported.
The final proposal will be submitted to the State Council for approval.
Meanwhile, the plan has buoyed the sentiment of the Hong Kong stock market, with the Heng Seng Index soared 5.9 percent on Aug. 20, the same day of the announcement, and kept rising for the following consecutive six trading days.
'Considering the U.S. subprime mortgage crises haven't died down, the implementation of the plan might not necessary be a good thing for investors both in Hong Kong and on the mainland,' Tan Yaling, an expert with the Bank of China, one of the banks that are supposed to provide the business.
'The crisis has prompted international speculative money to flow into the Chinese stock market,' said the expert, who warned the plan could further jack up prices of the Hong Kong stock market and affect its stability.
Ordinary mainland investors know little about overseas markets and a risk prevention mechanism is very important, the China Economic Weekly has quoted Wang Guogang, deputy director of financial institute of China Academy of Social Science as saying.
Investors should learn more about related laws and market regulations in Hong Kong before making investment, for the international stock market is far more complicated than mainland ones, he said.
Sponsor Results:
