CHINA’S plan to allow investments for private wealth across the border between Hong Kong and its increasingly affluent southern region will be capped at 150 billion yuan (US$23 billion) in each direction.

The Wealth Management Connect program, which will allow residents of Hong Kong, Macao and major cities in southern Guangdong Province to invest across the border, will also have an individual quota of 1 million yuan, according to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.

The program will take an “incremental approach, starting with a smooth launch with possibilities for enhancements down the road,” a spokesperson for the Hong Kong Monetary Authority said. “At the initial stage, available wealth management products will cover non-complex products with medium to low risk.”

Talks are still going on between regulators in three jurisdictions, as well as with the financial industry.

Hong Kong’s Private Wealth Management Association hopes the launch of the program, which will initially target retail banking clients, will take place early next year, said its chairman, Amy Lo.

The long-awaited program was announced without details in late June. Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Carrie Lam has been lobbying for more financial integration to build the city’s presence as a hub for private wealth and as a prominent offshore yuan center.

The Wealth Management Connect program is at first likely to only allow simple and non-complex products as defined by Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission in areas such as foreign exchange, fixed income and mutual funds, Lo said.

(SD-Agencies)