A senior Bank of China official said yesterday that the bank was still working on the 'complicated' technical details of a programme that will allow mainland investors to buy stocks directly from the Hong Kong market.
In the latest sign that the controversial programme is unlikely to hit the market any time soon, BOC vice-president Zhu Min said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Dalian that technical preparations, such as fund transfers between bank accounts and buying and selling stocks, were proving more complicated than had been expected.
China Banking Regulatory Commission chairman Liu Mingkang said in an interview on Thursday that his commission had been working on the technical details to lessen the risk for inexperienced mainland investors.
BOC, which together with its Hong Kong arm was appointed by the banking regulator to run the pilot programme known as the investment 'through train', announced late last month that it was ready to take applications and that people would be allowed to trade in Hong Kong stocks a couple of days after their registration.
However, the bank had been quiet since the announcement, and analysts said mainland securities regulators had managed to delay the programme by arguing the investment scheme would take too much capital away from mainland A shares and cause a market backlash.
China Securities Regulatory Commission chairman Shang Fulin and Mr Liu both denied the speculation during their appearances at the forum in Dalian, Liaoning province .