Xu Zhengyu: Implementing arrangements for online meetings and sales of three-party cross-border wealth management with Chinese mainland regulatory agencies.

Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury of Hong Kong, Christopher Hui, wrote in a written reply to legislative council members that this month, the relevant financial regulatory authorities in mainland China have implemented arrangements for the "tri-party online meeting" for the cross-border Wealth Management Connect scheme. Southbound clients can request assistance from mainland banks to establish tri-party online dialogues or video conferences with Hong Kong banks at their mainland branch outlets, where representatives from Hong Kong banks can introduce qualified wealth management products for southbound clients, providing investors with convenient online access to understand related Hong Kong wealth management products. It is believed that this will help Hong Kong local banks improve sales and communication convenience. As of the end of April, the number of individual investors participating in the Wealth Management Connect scheme exceeded 154,200 people, with cross-border remittance amounts totaling over 112.2 billion RMB. The authorities will continue to monitor market developments and the operation of the Wealth Management Connect scheme and maintain communication with mainland regulatory authorities and the industry, exploring further improvements and enhancements. The authorities will continue to review the operation of "Wealth Management Connect 2.0" with a focus on controllable risks and appropriate investor protection, and explore the feasibility of further optimizing and expanding the scheme with mainland China. Hui mentioned that active efforts are being made with relevant mainland China institutions to include RMB counters in the Stock Connect, introduce block trading of stocks, and include REITs in the mutual market access mechanism. In the future, discussions will continue on further expansion and optimization arrangements to support the healthy development of mainland China and Hong Kong capital markets integration.