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Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) is today (Wednesday) pleased to announce it has signed a new strategic cooperation agreement with Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE) to further enhance market connectivity and facilitate the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
Under this expanded agreement, HKEX and SZSE will work closely together to support the development of Hong Kong and Mainland China’s capital markets. The two exchanges will conduct joint marketing and promotional activities on a regular basis, such as forums and workshops, on relevant topics including Stock Connect, index and derivatives product development and cross-border regulatory updates.
Kicking off these activities, the two exchanges today jointly hosted a cross-border online investment conference with a focus on integrating and driving the development of the Greater Bay Area.
The conference welcomed speeches from SZSE President and CEO Sha Yan and HKEX Chief Executive Officer Nicolas Aguzin, among other exchange and industry experts, attracting participation from a broad range of Chinese and international market participants.
HKEX Chief Executive Officer Nicolas Aguzin said: “Hong Kong and Shenzhen, as leading global financial centres, will play a pivotal role in driving the future development of the region’s financial markets. The Greater Bay Area is one of the world’s most exciting economic and technological development areas, and we at HKEX today are delighted to be enhancing our partnership with SZSE, helping to shape the future growth of the region. Together with SZSE, we look forward to making our highly successful Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect even more attractive.”
As part of the new agreement, HKEX and SZSE will also take part in reciprocal short-term training and secondment programmes for their employees, to increase the exchanges, and their understanding of the development and operations of the respective markets.
HKEX and SZSE have a long-established relationship and have cooperated in a number of areas over the years, most notably for the launch of Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect in 2016. The latest agreement is an expanded version of the Closer Cooperation Agreement signed between the two exchanges on 8 April 2009.
Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect marked its fifth anniversary in December, with continuous rapid growth in trading volumes. As of 5 December 2021, its cumulative trading volume reached RMB41.9 trillion, with an average annual growth rate of 94.5 per cent, making it a key component contributing to the opening up of China’s capital markets.
