The Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect trading arrangement withstood volatility in the international and domestic stock markets and had "stable" trading conditions in its first year of existence, an official from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) said Tuesday.
The Stock Connect achieved its initial goals of improving the liquidity of cross-border capital investments and boosting the integration of the Shanghai and Hong Kong stock markets, Fang Xinghai, vice chairman of the CSRC, told a meeting to mark the 1-year anniversary of the program's launch.
Fang's comments were provided in a statement on the CSRC website.
According to Fang, the program had more than 2 trillion yuan ($313.6 billion) in transactions during its first year, with northbound investment from foreign investors into Shanghai reaching more than 1.5 trillion yuan and southbound investment from investors in the Chinese mainland into Hong Kong exceeding 588 billion yuan.
The program was launched on November 17, 2014 to link the stock markets in Shanghai and Hong Kong, after regulatory bodies in the mainland and Hong Kong approved the program in April last year.
The Stock Connect has played an important role in the internationalization of the yuan and helped Hong Kong consolidate its position as an international financial center, according to Fang.
