The stock exchanges of Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hong Kong expanded their cross-border trading programs by more than 1,000 stocks, almost 40%, and enabled eligible shares of international companies with primary listings in Hong Kong to be included in southbound trading.

As part of the expansion, 598 Shanghai stocks and 436 Shenzhen stocks will join the stock connect programs, bringing the total of A-shares available to international investors to 3,623. Securities regulators in the Chinese mainland and in Hong Kong agreed in December to expand the scope of eligible shares in the stock connect programs.