China News Service, February 26. According to Hong Kong's "Ta Kung Pao" report, the "Cross-border Financial Management Connect" in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area was officially launched in September 2021, and the optimized version of "Cross-border Financial Management Connect 2.0" will also be launched today ( 26) was officially implemented.
Experts expect that as quotas increase and products become more diversified, cross-border investment demand is expected to surge, which will help further consolidate Hong Kong's position as an asset management center.
The launch of the "Cross-border Wealth Management Connect" allows residents of the nine mainland cities in the Greater Bay Area, Hong Kong and Macao to invest in wealth management products sold by the other bank through closed-loop capital channels established by their respective banking systems.
In 2023, 69,200 individual investors participated in the "Cross-border Financial Management Connect" in the Greater Bay Area, involving 43,300 cross-border transfers of related funds, amounting to 12.81 billion yuan.
By the end of 2023, of the 32 pilot banks that have been registered in the nine mainland cities in the Greater Bay Area, 20 banks will be able to handle cross-border wealth management link fund remittance business for individual investors.
Zhou Guochang, deputy general manager of the Personal Digital Financial Products Department of BOC Hong Kong, said that "Cross-border Wealth Management Connect 2.0" will be an important opportunity for business development this year.
He pointed out that Wealth Management Connect 2.0 lowers the entry threshold for investors, increases investors’ personal quotas, adds investment products and optimizes sales procedures, which he believes will attract many investors.
In fact, although the optimization measures have not yet been launched, Hong Kong residents have opened accounts in advance to prepare for the launch of 2.0.
Bank of China Hong Kong revealed that customer demand for Wealth Management Connect account openings is strong. The number of "Southbound Link" account openings in January this year surged more than 10 times compared with January last year, and the average monthly account opening volume also increased three times last year. The implementation of Wealth Management Connect 2.0 Very optimistic.
KPMG also believes that the new measures will help expand individual investment channels in the Greater Bay Area and facilitate investors' access to global and offshore markets.
At the same time, the measures will strengthen Hong Kong's competitiveness as an asset management center and its role as a "super connector" between China and the world, and consolidate Hong Kong's status as an international financial center.
KPMG stated that the total quota of "Southbound Connect" is initially set at 150 billion yuan. Mainland residents in the Greater Bay Area can invest up to 3 million yuan in Hong Kong financial products, which is the limit of the previous version 1.0 of "Cross-border Financial Management Connect". 3 times.