The Dream Factory of China

　　The upcoming Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect - the second stocks trading link between the SAR and the mainland and widely expected to be launched this year - will be more open than the existing Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect, according to a senior official of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE).

　　SZSE Deputy General Manager Lin Fan said overseas investors will be able to buy stocks on the bourse's three boards - the main board, the SME board for small and medium-sized enterprises and the Nasdaq-style ChiNext board for startups.

　　Technical and capital cooperation with economies along the Belt and Road project will be expanded, based on the requirements of the new Shenzhen stocks link.

　　"The launch of the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect will help A shares to be included in international indexes, and will enable more foreign investors to invest in the mainland capital market," Lin told the T20 Qianhai International Financial Forum in Shenzhen on Wednesday. He said the Shenzhen and Hong Kong bourses have already completed technical and regulatory work for the launch, and the new stocks link has been listed as one of the most important plans of the China Securities Regulatory Commission this year.

　　Currently, there are 1,746 companies listed on the SZSE. High-tech enterprises account for 73 percent and 93 percent, respectively, of those floated on the SME and ChiNext boards.

　　A services platform for mutual recognition of funds has already been set up in the Qianhai cooperation zone.

　　"We hope to turn it into an operating platform for asset management products between the mainland and Hong Kong. We're also seeking to cooperate with other countries and regions in this aspect and hope to introduce more products on the platform in future," Lin said.

　　The Shenzhen Composite Index closed 0.64 percent lower on Wednesday.