Stock connect set to launch block trading

Investors in Chinese mainland and Hong Kong will be eligible to participate in block trading in each other's stock exchanges via the stock connect programs, the China Securities Regulatory Commission said on Friday.

The CSRC and its counterpart in Hong Kong have agreed to introduce block trading into the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect and the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect, the commission said in a statement on Friday.

Block trading, also known as non-automatic matching transactions, refers to large, privately negotiated securities transactions.

The move came in as part of regulators' ramped-up efforts to vitalize the capital market. According to the CSRC, introducing block trading into the stock connect programs will help enrich trading mechanisms, facilitate investors' transactions and boost the development of capital markets in both Chinese mainland and Hong Kong.

Implementation details and the official launch date of block trading under the stock connect programs will be announced by exchanges on both sides, the commission added.