By Lin Guan (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2007-11-14 14:23

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd (HKEx) has not yet decided on a timetable for domestic direct stock investment in Hong Kong and is currently focusing on investors' risk education, said an official with HKEx yesterday.

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Domestic investors will have to wait until the Hong Kong market fully opens to the mainland, said Lawrence Fok, executive vice president of HKEx Issuer Marketing Division, at the 2007 Annual Conference of China's Financial Market.

HKEx is working on investor education to help bridge differences between the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong stock markets. He added the market is confident in the direct Hong Kong stock investment program.

The program has greatly impacted the Hong Kong stock market. Following the announcement of the pilot program, the Hang Seng Index rose to around 30,000 from 20,000 points and has only fallen slightly ever since.

Li Jing, China head of JP Morgan Chase, also attended the annual conference. She said the direct Hong Kong stock investment program is likely to be postponed till 2008.

However, she didn't believe that was bad news, saying the sudden descent of green mainland investors could cause capital to flood in, potentially harming the Hong Kong market. She said the QDII (qualified domestic institutional investor) should still play the main role in ensuring a stable current of capital influx.