The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government today welcomed a decision to further enhance the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Cross-boundary Wealth Management Connect Pilot Scheme.

The decision was jointly announced by the People’s Bank of China, the National Administration of Financial Regulation, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, the Monetary Authority and the Securities & Futures Commission of Hong Kong as well as the Monetary Authority of Macau.

The financial regulatory authorities of the Mainland, Hong Kong and Macau will enhance the Wealth Management Connect along five directions.

The directions include: refining the eligibility criteria of investors to support more Greater Bay Area residents to participate in the scheme, expanding the scope of participating institutions to include eligible securities firms, expanding the scope of eligible investment products, increasing the individual investor quota as appropriate, and further enhancing cross-boundary promotion and sales arrangements.

The implementation arrangements and operational guidance will be refined to enact the measures as soon as practicable.

Noting that the Wealth Management Connect has been growing steadily since its launch in September 2021, Financial Secretary Paul Chan said the enhancement measures will further enrich the investment options of Greater Bay Area residents and promote mutual access of the financial markets of the three places, which is conducive for the industry to explore business opportunities in the bay area.

These measures can further realise the potential of the Wealth Management Connect while enhancing Hong Kong’s position as an international asset and management centre, he added.

“I am most grateful to the Central People’s Government for the support, and the regulators of the three places for their efforts in taking forward the initiative.”