Any potential delay in Beijing's plan to allow mainland individuals to buy Hong Kong-traded shares directly would have a limited impact on the market because the scheme has been plagued with uncertainty since it was first announced in August, according to fund managers.
Central government officials yesterday confirmed that the government would further delay the implementation of the 'through train' scheme, while some sources said it might be pushed back to early next year due to continued disagreements among mainland regulators over the programme's set-up.
Also causing a pause is the reshuffling of the State Council in March and possibly the leadership of People's Bank of China and China Securities Regulatory Commission.
'Even if it takes as long as March, the plan itself is still good news, so I don't think it will have a significant impact on the market,' said Gen Lee, a manager on the principal trading desk at Standard Bank Asia. 'There was no set schedule when it was announced.'
Similarly, Ample Finance Group director Alex Wong Kwok-ying said there would be 'no material' impact on the stock market. 'People have waited for two months already for the scheme,' he said.
The State Administration of Foreign Exchange announced on August 20 that mainland residents could open special accounts in Bank of China's Tianjin Binhai branch to trade Hong Kong stocks.
Since then, the Hang Seng Index has shot up 34 per cent, frequently setting new record closes. It closed down 1.98 per cent yesterday in volatile trading at 28,954.55.
