Shanghai-London stock connect in the pipeline

    THE central bank is preparing the groundwork for a proposed link between the Shanghai and London stock exchanges that will allow investors on one exchange to invest in the other, the Securities Times reported yesterday.

    If the work on the stock connect program runs into specific difficulties, China and other regulators will act together to push forward, said Ma Jun, chief economist at the central bank’s research bureau. Feasibility studies for a potential Shanghai-London stock connect have been under discussion for some time.

    Watchdog uncovers irregularities at CSRC

    CHINA’S graft watchdog unearthed a raft of problems at the country’s securities regulator in recent years, including illegal share trading by officials’ family members, prompting the head of the regulator to vow to eradicate corruption.

    The revelations came at an internal meeting of leading Party members in the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) amid a sweeping anti-corruption campaign launched more than three years ago by President Xi Jinping, according to a notice on the CSRC’s website late Tuesday. Several senior CSRC officials were probed for suspected corruption during last summer’s stock market crash.

    Growth luring money to ETF

    THE largest U.S. exchange-traded fund (ETF) investing in Chinese stocks is growing bigger as short interest recedes after faster-than-expected growth eased concern about a hard landing in the world’s second-largest economy.

    About 1.4 percent of the Deutsche X-trackers Harvest CSI 300 China A-Shares ETF was sold short as of Sept. 9, down from almost 4 percent in mid-July before data showed second-quarter gross domestic product expanded 6.7 percent. Investors have added US$77.2 million to the fund in the past four weeks.

    Central bank injects 28-day funds

    THE central bank resumed the use of a 28-day lending tool for the first time since February, lowering the interest rate as it injected funds into the financial system before a series of onshore holidays.

    The People’s Bank of China auctioned 60 billion yuan (US$9 billion) of reverse-repurchase agreements in open-market operations Tuesday, reducing the rate to 2.55 percent from 2.6 percent Feb. 5.