While Beijing clings on to its grip over Hong Kong politics with all its might, it has relinquished some control of its cash.
The long-awaited plan to connect the Shanghai and Hong Kong stock exchanges has finally been agreed upon, after what the Hong Kong Monetary Authority has described as “intensive discussions and preparations” with those in charge of the world’s second largest economy.
If, like most people, you don’t really get what all the fuss is about, this basically means that global investors will be able to access Chinese stocks from Hong Kong, resulting in an estimated HKD28.2 billion in trades every day. Jeez, why didn’t someone think of this before?
The answer: Chinese regulators finally gave their approval yesterday after plenty of delays and no doubt behind-the-scenes panicking.
The linked trades are expected to open next Monday.
Reader Interactions