On November 6, Ronald Arculli, chairman of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEx) said HKEx agrees that the "direct train" scheme, which would allow Chinese mainland investors to directly invest in the Hong Kong stock market, should be studied further and that mainland investors need to be educated regarding the operation and risks of the HK stock market before the scheme is launched. He also revealed that HKEx would soon sign an agreement with the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) to collaboratively illuminate mainland investors on how the HK stock market works.

Mr. Arculli told reporters after a ceremony marking the listing of Alibaba.com. "It's not so important as to when the direct train arrives, it's more important that it runs smoothly," he said.

Additionally, Mr. Arculli said he did not know about any reports stating that the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) has told several fund companies to cut their exposure to HK shares in their Qualified Domestic Institutional Investors (QDII) products. He said he was not clear if the government had set new limitations on QDII. He believes that fund managers will adjust their own equity allocations as they see fit. 

For more details, please read the full story in Chinese. (http://www.dfdaily.com/node2/node27/node119/userobject1ai37212.shtml)

(China.org.cn November 7, 2007)