Enhancements to Cross-boundary Wealth Management Connect Pilot Scheme in the GBA in Five Directions
Source: Securities Times 证券时报
Announced on the official website of the People's Bank of China on 28 September 2023, to implement the national strategy of developing the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), deepen financial cooperation between Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, and facilitate the synergistic economic development of the Mainland, Hong Kong and Macao, the People's Bank of China, the National Administration of Financial Regulation, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong, and the Monetary Authority of Macao have decided to further enhance the " Cross-boundary Wealth Management Connect Pilot Scheme (the Scheme) in the GBA.
Enhancement of the Scheme mainly focuses on the following five directions: First, Refine the eligibility criteria of investors so as to support more GBA residents to participate in the Scheme. Second, expand the scope of participating institutions to include eligible securities firms, allowing them to distribute investment products and provide relevant services to Southbound and Northbound individual investors. Third, expand the scope of Southbound and Northbound eligible products to better meet the demand of GBA residents for diversified investments. Fourth, increase the individual investor quota as appropriate. Fifth, further enhance promotion and sales arrangements so as to steer financial institutions to offer quality financial services to GBA residents.
The implementation details of the Scheme are being revised and will be released after the relevant procedures are completed. At that time, investors can invest in accordance with the revised implementation rules.
The Scheme is an important measure taken by the country to support the construction of the GBA and has opened up a new channel for individual cross-border investment by residents of the GBA. In September 2021, the People's Bank of China, together with the financial regulatory authorities of the Mainland, Hong Kong and Macao, officially launched the Scheme in the GBA.
According to relevant policy arrangements, Mainland, Hong Kong and Macao investors in the GBA can invest cross-border in eligible investment products or wealth management products sold by financial institutions such as counterparty banks through the closed-loop capital channels established by the banking system in the area. According to the identity of the investment entity, it can be divided into "northbound traffic" and "southbound traffic".
The pilot has been running smoothly for two years since its launch. As of the end of August 2023, a total of 66 banks and 59,000 individual investors in the GBA have participated in the "Cross-border Wealth Management Connect" business pilot.
The officials of the People's Bank of China said that the Scheme is an important measure of the country to support the construction of the GBA and deepen financial cooperation between Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao. It is of great significance to facilitate residents of the GBA to enjoy high-quality financial services, promote the financial market connectivity in the GBA and enhance the two-way openness of the country's financial markets.
Disclaimer: This document has been translated into English. If there is any inconsistency or ambiguity between the English version and the Chinese version, the Chinese version shall prevail. The full text of the measures, in Chinese, can be found below:
http://www.stcn.com/article/detail/994924.html