Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect is a mutual stock market access mechanism between the Mainland and Hong Kong under which Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE) and the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (SEHK) have established technical connectivity to enable investors in the Mainland and Hong Kong to trade eligible shares and stock ETFs listed on the other’s market through their local securities companies or brokers.

Shenzhen Connect refers to that investors appoint Hong Kong brokers to trade eligible shares and stock ETFs under Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect listed on SZSE by sending orders (order routing) to SZSE through a securities trading service company established by SEHK in Shenzhen.

Hong Kong Connect under Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect refers to that investors appoint the Mainland securities companies to trade eligible shares and stock ETFs under Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect listed on SEHK by sending orders (order routing) to SEHK through a securities trading service company established by SZSE in Hong Kong.

Milestones:

 May 2016, SZSE and CSDC set up the Leadership Team for Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect.

 August 16, 2016, with the approval of the State Council, the CSRC and the SFC issued the Joint Announcement of the China Securities Regulatory Commission and the Securities and Futures Commission.  

 August 22, 2016, SZSE and CSDC jointly issued a circular on the initiation of business and technical preparatory work for Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect.

 August 26, 2016, SZSE started soliciting public opinions on the draft rules for Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect.

 August 31, 2016, SZSE and CSDC Shenzhen Branch jointly provided business and technical training on Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect.

 December 5, 2016, the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect was officially launched.

 May 1, 2018, the daily quotas for Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect were quadrupled: the daily quota for Shenzhen Connect was raised from 13 billion yuan to 52 billion yuan, and the daily quota for Hong Kong Connect was raised from 10.5 billion yuan to 42 billion yuan.

 September 17, 2018, the Broker-to-Client Assigned Number (BCAN) system went live.

 October 28, 2019, shares of Hong Kong-listed companies with weighted voting rights (WVR) structures were included in Hong Kong Connect.

 January 13, 2020, the Southbound Investor Assigned Number (SAN) system was introduced.

 December 28, 2020, shares of eligible pre-revenue biotechnology companies were included in Hong Kong Connect.

 February 1, 2021, the H-shares corresponding to the A+H shares listed on the STAR Market were included in Hong Kong Connect.

 July 4, 2022, ETFs were included in the scope of eligible securities under Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect. At the same time, rules were implemented to restrict mainland investors' northbound trading of A-shares.

 March 13, 2023, the scope of eligible stocks was expanded in both directions: for Shenzhen Connect, the pool was expanded to cover all eligible constituents of SZSE Composite Index, the market capitalization threshold for inclusion was lowered, and the scope adjustment mechanism was optimized; for Hong Kong Connect, eligible foreign companies with primary listings in Hong Kong that are constituents of the Hang Seng Composite Index were included.

 April 24, 2023, the trading calendar was optimized, enabling trading on all common trading days of both markets.

May 13 and August 19, 2024, the trading information disclosure for Shanghai-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect was optimized in two phases.

 July 22, 2024, the scope of eligible ETFs for Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect was further expanded.

 TBD…