Hong Kong stocks soar after China’s market regulator vows support for city’s global financial hub status

The China Securities Regulatory Commission will facilitate Hong Kong listings by leading Chinese firms and expand the Stock Connect cross-border investment scheme

The market regulator said ‘it is necessary to consolidate and enhance Hong Kong’s status as an international financial centre’

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General view of Hong Kong Exchange Square in Central. Photo: Jelly Tse.

Published: 10:17am, 22 Apr 2024Updated: 4:39pm, 22 Apr 2024

Hong Kong stocks rallied after China’s market regulator unveiled a series of market reforms aimed at enhancing the city’s status as a financial hub, with sentiment also getting a boost from the prospect of a bigger investor base following the changes.

The Hang Seng Index rose 1.8 per cent on Monday to close at 16,511.69. The Tech Index gained an identical 1.8 per cent, while the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.7 per cent.

Among the most heavily traded stocks were Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, the stock exchange operator, which rose as much as 3.7 per cent but gave up some gains to end the day at HK$220, still up 2.5 per cent on the day. Topping the volumes list were gaming giant Tencent, which jumped 5.3 per cent to HK$320 and food delivery company Meituan which advanced 5.6 per cent to HK$100.60. E-commerce behemoth Alibaba was up 2.5 per cent at HK$68.35.

Prominent among losers was Li Auto, which dived as much as 9.7 per cent, but recouped some of that to close at HK$97.45, down 8.3 per cent for the day after a discount war spread to the premium segment in the world’s biggest electric vehicle market.

Oil stocks slumped after crude prices retreated on the build-up in US inventories and a cooling of Middle East tensions. Offshore oil and gas major CNOOC fell 2.5 per cent to HK$18.16 and PetroChina, Asia’s largest oil and gas producer, slumped 2.7 per cent to HK$7.29.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission announced late on Friday that it will facilitate Hong Kong listings by leading Chinese companies and said it will expand the Stock Connect cross-border investment scheme to enhance the city’s status as an international financial centre.

The measures follow recent moves by the market regulator to raise the bar for new listings and strengthen delisting regulations.