Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect Gets Off to Quiet Start

By Yang Yanwen, Lin Jinbing, Jiang Bowen and Wu Xiaofei

Liu Shiyu, left, chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, and Hu Chunhua, secretary of the Guangdong provincial committee of the Communist Party of China, attend the launch ceremony ofthe Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect at the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, on Monday. Photo: IC

(Beijing) — A new link allowing cross-border stock buying between Hong Kong and the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen made a low-key debut on Monday, mirroring a weak start to the week for markets throughout Asia as China launched its latest effort to open up the nation's financial markets to outsiders.

Trading volume over the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect was slow on its first day, with only a small fraction of the daily allotted quota in both directions being used. Money flowing from Hong Kong to the Shenzhen stock market totaled 2.7 billion yuan ($392 million) — or just 21% of the total allowed. Money flowing the other way totaled HK$902 million ($116 million), or an even-smaller 8% of the maximum allowable daily volume.