HKEx says no agreement yet on planned Shenzhen-HK Stock Connect

THE Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEx) said on Wednesday that no agreement has been entered into with its Chinese counterparts with regards to the proposed Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect programme.

"HKEx wishes to emphasise that as at the date of this announcement, the proposed Shenzhen Stock Connect is still subject to regulatory approval and no agreement with our counterparts has been entered into,'' it said.

The clarifications came after a 3.3 percent surge in the Shenzhen Composite Index and a 3.1 percent gain in Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index.

HKEx was forced to issue the clarification after China's central bank unintentionally sparked a surge in the nation's stock market by publishing five month-old comments from governor Zhou Xiaochuan that said a link between exchanges in Shenzhen and Hong Kong would start in 2015.

According to Bloomberg, China's central bank later confirmed in a text message that Zhou's comments on the link were taken from a speech on May 27.