Stocks News
- Govt. wary of Shanghai-HK bourse links
Date: 17-Sep-2007 Sources: (Shenzhen Daily)
HONG KONG and mainland stock markets will eventually be linked, but it is still too early for concrete progress towards that end, a senior Hong Kong securities official said in remarks published Friday.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang in June endorsed the idea of trading Hong Kong and Shanghai-listed shares on each other's exchanges despite the mainland's capital controls and said both parties were discussing the mechanics of an arbitrage mechanism.
The Hong Kong government two weeks ago raised its stake in market operator Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd. (HKEx), increasing speculation that Hong Kong could be gearing up for an alliance with the Shanghai or Shenzhen bourses.
Hong Kong Financial Secretary John Tsang said the move would enable the government to contribute to the development of HKEx, particularly in strategic partnerships with mainland institutions.
But Sun Jie, senior vice president for mainland affairs with the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, was quoted by the China Securities Journal as saying the Central Government was understandably cautious about bridging the two markets.
'The increase of the Hong Kong government's stake in HKEx is a natural move and it's too early to talk about concrete steps in merging the mainland's and Hong Kong's bourses,'the paper paraphrased Sun as saying.
Sun, who used to be a senior official with the mainland's securities watchdog, said a tie-up could have a profound long-term impact on the mainland's market.
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