Beijing is in talks with Singapore and Britain to let mainland investors buy equities in these markets, a move seen as the next stage of China’s opening up of the capital account and globalising the yuan as the Shanghai-Hong Kong stock connect scheme readies to start.
The initiative, if approved, will put Hong Kong in direct competition with London and Singapore for mainland investors. It will also pose a challenge to Hong Kong banks – where most wealthy mainlanders keep their yuan deposits – to keep offshore yuan in the city.
Wang Dan, a senior official at the People’s Bank of China, was quoted by China Business News yesterday saying the central bank is working on the framework of the RQDII (renminbi qualified domestic institutional investor) scheme, which would allow eligible citizens to invest in offshore capital markets.
The move is expected to bring fresh capital into the offshore yuan deposit pool. China’s disappointing economic performance in recent months and a surging US dollar overshadowing yuan appreciation have cast a shadow on offshore yuan deposits of late.
“This is definitely a good thing for China. It will not only boost the existing 1.5 trillion yuan [HK$1.9 trillion] global offshore yuan pool, but also make the onshore financial system healthier as those high-yield wealth management products will attract less capital,” said Nathan Chow, China economist at DBS Bank.
“Hong Kong’s share of the total offshore yuan pool will decrease over time but that should not be investors’ focus as the absolute value still has huge room to increase,” he said.
A report from Shanghai-based Z-Ben Advisors highlights the worries about Hong Kong’s ability to remain the world’s biggest offshore yuan centre after the RQDII programme starts.
“Hong Kong is no longer first among equals,” says the the Z-Ben report. “(RQDII) will begin to equalise the current dominance held by Hong Kong and such a challenge will now be led by the UK as the key challenger.
“The launch of a programme could place hubs outside of Hong Kong in a more competitive position due to wider array of investment options offered,” it said.
Beijing announced the launch of the stock connect scheme in April. It will allow mainlanders and Honkongers to conduct limited cross-border trades.
This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as Beijing seeks entry into UK, Singapore markets written by:
Jeanny Yu [email protected]