The stock exchanges of Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hong Kong expanded their cross-border trading programs by more than 1,000 stocks, almost 40%, and enabled eligible shares of international companies with primary listings in Hong Kong to be included in southbound trading, reports Nikkei Asia.
As part of the expansion, 598 Shanghai stocks and 436 Shenzhen stocks will join the stock connect programs, bringing the total of A-shares available to international investors to 3,623. Securities regulators in the Chinese mainland and in Hong Kong agreed in December to expand the scope of eligible shares in the stock connect programs.
“The expansion of both the southbound and northbound stock connect to include more companies is great news for the market and for investors,” Hong Kong exchange Chief Executive Officer Nicolas Aguzin said in a statement. “This is the next significant milestone development in the continued evolution of this unique and successful mutual market access programs.”