Hong Kong to scrap cap on residents' daily RMB conversion

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s chief executive, Norman Chan Tak-lam, announced yesterday that it would scrap the daily yuan conversion limit for residents of RMB20,000 on Monday, November 17, the same day that the Hong Kong-Shanghai Stock Connect is set to begin, South China Morning Post reported. The daily conversion limit was put in place in 2004 to stymie currency speculation, but Hong Kong has allowed non-residents to convert unlimited quantities of the yuan daily since 2012. The daily limit of RMB80,000 on yuan remittances to the mainland by holders of Hong Kong bank accounts will remain, and cross-border travelers will still have to declare physical holdings of RMB20,000 or more.