China’s securities regulator has drafted new rules enabling foreign investors to trade mainland stocks via local brokers and take part in Chinese employers’ stock incentive plans, Caixin reports, in a further bid to increase accessibility to the country’s wobbling domestic stock market.
The new rules “will further enrich the sources of investment, expand channels for capital and optimise the market structure,” the China Securities Regulatory Commission wrote in a statement on Wednesday.
From September 15, the over 900,000 foreign workers based in China will be able to open brokerage accounts to trade yuan-denominated A-shares listed on the Shanghai or Shenzhen stock exchanges, the statement read.
Under the current system, foreign individual investors must buy A-shares through Hong-Kong brokers and then use the Stock Connect system linking the territory with the mainland. Institutional investors can apply to participate in the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (QFII) program.