China’s trading rules pose a threat to the early success of the first direct access many foreigners will have to the country’s mainland stock markets, fund managers have warned.
The Hong Kong-Shanghai Stock Connect is due to go live next month, allowing investors in each market to trade shares directly in the other. But fund managers say that a series of still unresolved issues could cause traditional long-only investors – exactly the kind of investor China wants to attract – to hold back from using the new system.
Issues include legal ownership of Chinese A-shares, the requirements for delivering stock for sale and how China’s taxation regime will apply.