'Through train' set to green-light new system

The new central clearing and settlement system will be put into use by the end of the week, said Hong Kong Exchanges on Monday, marking a final step before the 'through train' is technically ready to go.

Market participants of Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect will need to deploy the internal systems they upgraded to align with the new central clearing and settlement system during the weekend of Oct 18 and 19, according to the Exchanges.

The Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect, also known as 'through train', is widely expected to kick off on Oct 27 although security regulatory of both sides hasn't announced a specific launch date.

The mutual market access scheme, initiated by Premier Li Keqiang in April, will allow global investors, institutional and retail, to trade Shanghai-listed "A" shares via the Hong Kong bourse with a total quota of 300 billion yuan, while mainland investors will be able to buy up to 250 billion yuan worth of Hong Kong-listed "H" shares through the Shanghai stock exchange.

Participating brokerages completed rehearsals on the market link on Sept 13, followed by two rounds of practice sessions on Sept 20 and Oct 11.

The Hong Kong Exchanges also noted that the new and the original stems will operate in parallel during the stabilization period between Oct 20 and 25, in case market participants need to revert to the original version.

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