The China Financial Supervisory Authority supports Mainland insurance funds to use the Shanghai-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect to invest in Hong Kong ETFs to deepen the collaborative development of the Mainland and Hong Kong capital markets

The Zhitong Finance App learned that the Hong Kong Treasury Secretary, Mr Hui Ching-yu, together with Executive Director Wu Jiali of the Investment Products Division of the Hong Kong Securities Regulatory Commission and Chan Yi-ting, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, visited the China Financial Supervisory Authority and Deputy Director Xiao Yuanqi today (August 18) to discuss measures to further promote the collaborative development of capital markets between the Mainland and Hong Kong. The China Financial Supervisory Authority also announced that it will actively support mainland insurance funds to participate in financial market connectivity between the Mainland and Hong Kong, and support mainland insurance institutions to invest in Hong Kong Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) through the Shanghai-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government warmly welcomed this measure.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Lee Ka-chiu said, “I sincerely thank the Central People's Government and the General Financial Supervisory Authority for their support. The national “15th Five-Year Plan” clearly supports Hong Kong in consolidating and enhancing its status as an international financial center and strengthening the functions of a global offshore RMB business hub, an international asset and wealth management center, and an international risk management center. Based on the mature experience of mainland insurance funds investing in the Hong Kong stock market through the Shanghai-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect, the relevant policies and measures announced will further facilitate the diversified asset allocation of mainland insurance companies through Hong Kong, promote the development of the local ETF market, and expand the local ETF ecosystem. These measures represent the country's strong support for the development of Hong Kong's capital market and asset management industry, and are of great significance. The SAR government will continue to take advantage of Hong Kong's internal and external communication advantages under 'one country, two systems', continue to optimize the connectivity mechanisms between Hong Kong and the Mainland, cooperate closely with mainland regulators, and jointly deepen market cooperation between the two places. The SAR government is formulating Hong Kong's first five-year plan at full speed. It will make every effort to prepare it, actively seize the country's development opportunities, serve the country's high level of financial openness to the outside world, and better integrate and serve the overall development of the country.”

Hong Kong's Financial Secretary Chan Mao-po said, “Opening up mainland insurance funds to invest in Hong Kong ETFs through the Shanghai-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect is a mutually beneficial and win-win initiative: it can not only provide mainland insurance companies with broader and more diverse investment channels, but also drive the development of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange traded products market, and further deepen the links and joint development of the capital markets of the two places. In recent years, we have actively promoted the development of the exchange-traded product market, including cultivating and expanding innovative products such as active ETFs and encouraging overseas ETFs to be listed across borders; the trading volume of exchange-traded products has also repeatedly reached new highs: in 2025, its average daily turnover nearly doubled year on year, and increased by more than 25% year on year in the first half of this year, making Hong Kong one of the leading hubs for related products in the region. With strong support from relevant ministries and departments of the central government, the Shanghai-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect was included in the ETF in 2022. The trading scale has increased dramatically over the past few years. The average daily turnover for the first half of this year is already about 12 times that of when it was launched. We will continue to work with financial regulators and various market stakeholders to make this market bigger and more competitive, and create more new channels for asset allocation and new investment opportunities for domestic and foreign investors.”