Hong Kong daily stock quota sees 17% take-up on first day of link-up scheme

[HONG KONG] Chinese buyers took up only 17 per cent of their 10.5 billion yuan daily quota of Hong Kong stocks on Monday, as mainland investors gave a lukewarm response to the launch of a landmark scheme connecting the Hong Kong and the Shanghai stock markets.

That was in sharp contrast to the volume of trade in the opposite direction, where a daily investment quota of 13 billion yuan for Shanghai stocks was quickly exhausted as international investors made a beeline for mainland markets.

The Stock Connect scheme, which allows Hong Kong and Shanghai investors buy and sell shares on each other's bourses, is the latest step towards opening China's tightly controlled capital markets.

REUTERS