“The world is going through seismic changes unseen in a century, but times is on our side, and this is the foundation for our perseverance, determination and confidence,” Hong Kong’s Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said during an online seminar to mark the fifth anniversary of the Bond Connect programme. “In the progress of [Hong Kong’s development] into an international financial centre, we [witnessed] the fact that China’s steady development is the most solid support [for] Hong Kong.”

“Hong Kong is a place of convenience, [where] investors can invest knowing they are meeting the regulations of China,” without being physically on the mainland, said Julia Leung Fung-yee, the deputy chief executive officer of the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), during an online forum to mark the anniversary of the Bond Connect programme.

The stock markets were mixed after the various Connect programmes were announced. Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng index closed the day 0.1 per cent down, after crawling its way out of a 1.8 per cent decline. Shanghai’s key gauge rose 0.5 per cent while Shenzhen’s major index rose 1.2 per cent.

Hong Kong investors gain access to US$89.6 billion in China-based ETFs

An ETF is a basket of underlying securities, including stocks, commodities and other asset classes, that investors can buy and sell on an exchange like an ordinary stock.

The ETF Connect will attract long-term funds to China’s financial markets, creating the kind of depth and counterweight to short-term capital flows and volatile sentiments, said Xu Meng, executive director of quantitative investing at China Asset Management, which has 10 ETFs included in the first 83 funds eligible for overseas investment.

“It will benefit international asset managers as they usually use ETFs as a tool to optimise liquidity in funds,” said Xu, adding that offshore investors tend to include ETFs in their portfolios, as they have better liquidity and more diversified risks compared with investing in a single stock.

ESG investing: why it works and how some smaller ETFs outgun market titans

A total of 694 ETFs valued at 1.5 trillion yuan trade in Shanghai and Shenzhen, with the offerings having grown 30 per cent last year, according to data from Shenwan Hongyuan Group and Huachuang Securities. That compares with the total market capitalisation of 84 trillion yuan for China’s onshore market.

Hong Kong’s ETF market is much smaller, hosting only 150 such funds with HK$405.9 billion (US$51.7 billion) in assets under management, according to data provided by Huaxin Securities.

“In today’s volatile market and tense geopolitical situation, people are looking to China’s very stable economic policy that aims to create a very stable environment,” said Jimmy Jim, head of global markets at ICBC (Asia) Limited. “This is very important to the investor – they can better predict what is happening and lower market risk”

It will kick off through the so-called northbound trade, allowing global investors access to China’s financial derivatives market through a connection between the clearing houses in both China and Hong Kong.

The timetable for the southbound leg, which will enable mainland investors to access the Hong Kong financial derivatives market, was not immediately clear.

Hong Kong also received a shot in the arm in its role as the world’s largest offshore trading hub for the renminbi. The Chinese central bank upgraded its currency swap facility with Hong Kong to a permanent agreement, and expanded the size by 60 per cent to 800 billion yuan.

Renminbi-denominated investment “is attractive for many reasons,” and the volume of China-related investments “will continue to grow … in the medium to long term” despite the Covid-19 pandemic, said Orient Securities Company Limited’s president Lu Weiming.

“China has kept its policy focused on national development, [so] the renminbi’s exchange rate remained stable compared to other emerging market currencies,” Lu said. “The renminbi can better meet the needs of investors for asset management.”