Who are the winners in mainland-Hong Kong stock connect trading?
Over US$1 trillion in shares has changed hands via the two links in the three years since the Shanghai-Hong Kong stock connect was launched
Investors have traded more than a trillion US dollars’ worth of shares via the two cross-border stock-connect schemes linking Hong Kong to the mainland.
According to data from Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX), HSBC and liquor maker Kweichow Moutai have been the most heavily traded stocks, while banking, consumer and “new economy” have been the dominant sectors.
The stock connect between Shanghai and Hong Kong celebrates its third anniversary on Friday. As of the end of last month, it had seen international investors trade 3.35 trillion yuan (US$509 billion) of shares listed in Shanghai. Overseas investors traded 705 billion yuan of Shenzhen-listed stocks via the tie-up with Hong Kong, established in December last year.
That’s higher than the HK$3.32 trillion (US$425 billion) of Hong Kong-listed shares traded by mainlanders through the two channels.
The HKEX data shows that a combined total of US$1.025 trillion of shares have changed hands through the stock-connect links since they were launched.
The two cross-border schemes were major milestones in China’s efforts to open up its markets. They allow international investors to trade A shares listed in Shanghai or Shenzhen via any brokers licensed by HKEX, while providing mainlanders with a means to trade Hong Kong-listed stocks.