More details revealed for GBA Wealth Management Connect

On May 6th, authorities including the People's Bank of China, the China Securities Regulatory Commission jointly issued a detailed draft document for Wealth Management Connect (WMC) pilot scheme in the Greater Bay Area (GBA). It is to set an initial RMB 150 billion quota for transactions under the scheme.

WMC refers to the arrangement under which individual residents in the GBA carry out cross-boundary investment in wealth management products distributed by banks in the GBA.

It aims at facilitating cross-boundary investment by individual residents in the GBA and promotes the opening-up of the Chinese mainland's financial markets as well as the mutual social and economic development of the mainland, Hong Kong and Macao.

In short, it allows residents of the two offshore centers and those in nine cities in Guangdong to buy financial products in the other markets. It will have northbound product access for Hong Kong, Macao investors and southbound product access for mainland residents.

For southbound investors, they should be residents of the nine Chinese mainland cities in the GBA and have a two-year or above investment experience. Also, they should have maintained at least 1 million yuan in net family financial assets over the last three months. Or, they have total family financial assets of no less than 2 million yuan maintained over the last three months.

According to the regulators, the scheme would be published in public comments before the May 21 deadline. And the first WMC product could be launched in June.

Author: Will