This significant and timely book explores a novel market mechanism, Stock Connect, which gives mutual market access to Chinese and international investors, and provides original analyses and fresh insights. This mechanism could become the new normal in future global financial integration. By examining this cross-border scheme from a regulatory perspective via a three-tiered analytical framework (investors, issuers and regulators), this book unearths the profound implications of Stock Connect to local and global financial markets and the legal impediments to its implementation. It covers a broad range of topics in this cross-boundary investment channel, including an overview of four existing connectivity arrangements (Shanghai-Hong Kong, Shenzhen-Hong Kong, Shanghai-London and China-Switzerland), the uniqueness of these connectivity arrangements, investor protection, regulations of connect issuers, regulatory cooperation and enforcement, the impacts on local and global financial markets, the implications for the world market connectivity as well as the challenges and future of Stock Connect. This pioneering study will appeal to a broad range of readers who are interested in the on-going reshaping of international financial systems and China's emerging influence in the international financial order.

This significant and timely book explores a novel market mechanism, Stock Connect, which gives mutual market access to Chinese and international investors, and provides original analyses and fresh insights. This mechanism could become the new normal in future global financial integration. By examining this cross-border scheme from a regulatory perspective via a three-tiered analytical framework (investors, issuers and regulators), this book unearths the profound implications of Stock Connect to local and global financial markets and the legal impediments to its implementation. It covers a broad range of topics in this cross-boundary investment channel, including an overview of four existing connectivity arrangements (Shanghai-Hong Kong, Shenzhen-Hong Kong, Shanghai-London and China-Switzerland), the uniqueness of these connectivity arrangements, investor protection, regulations of connect issuers, regulatory cooperation and enforcement, the impacts on local and global financial markets, the implications for the world market connectivity as well as the challenges and future of Stock Connect. This pioneering study will appeal to a broad range of readers who are interested in the on-going reshaping of international financial systems and China's emerging influence in the international financial order.

As a bridge between Chinese mainland and international financial markets, the Stock Connect program allows investors on both sides to gain mutual access. By analyzing how cross-border flows respond to macro-related shocks, we show that compared with possibly homemade foreign investors, genuine foreign investors are more likely affected by the U.S. monetary shocks, the exchange rate risk, the U.S. market performance as well as the cross-market valuation disparity. The paper highlights the importance of profiling different groups of cross-border participants over market integration.

The Stock Connect programs are important steps for China to liberate its relatively restricted financial market. The Shanghai - Hong Kong Stock Connect program launched in 2014, and the Shenzhen - Hong Kong program launched in 2016 allowed both institutional and individual international investors access to the Chinese stock market for the first time. This paper studies the impact of the Stock Connect programs on Chinese stock returns and Chinese stock market's integration with international stock markets using 2SLS regression analysis. Regression results show that the launch of the SH - HK Stock Connect program increased daily returns of all four eligible indexes under Stock Connect programs but did not increase correlation between daily performances of Chinese stock market and global stock markets with statistical significance.

This study examines the impact of the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect on the degree of financial integration between the Hong Kong stock market and the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets in mainland China. By applying cointegration tests and linear and nonlinear Granger causality techniques on market capitalization and market index, we find that the stock markets from mainland China are increasingly influencing the Hong Kong stock market after the introduction of the Stock Connect scheme. Following the scheme's introduction, the cointegration relationship between China and Hong Kong in terms of market capitalizations and market indices is also increasing. Moreover, Granger causality effects on market capitalizations and market indices from China remain strong, while the directional Granger cause of the two variables from Hong Kong to China has become weak or been rejected. Our study indicates that further opening of the Chinese stock markets enhances their leading roles, given that market capitalizations and market indices exhibit the highest degree of explanatory power regarding market correction toward long-run equilibrium. However with nonlinear causality test, our results indicate that Hong Kong stock market is still relevant to understand and predict China stock market after the introduction of the Stock Connect scheme.

A cross-country comparative analysis shows that there is substantial room for further integration of China into global financial markets, especially in the case of the international bond market. A further successful liberalization of the Chinese bond market would encompass not only loosening bond market regulations, but also further developing of other markets, notably the foreign exchange market. Even though the increased integration of China into international capital markets would increase its exposure to the global financial cycle, the costs in terms of monetary autonomy would not be large given China’s size and especially under a well-articulated macroeconomic framework.

Interest in examining the financial linkages of economies has increased in the wake of the 2008/2009 global financial crisis. Applying the concepts of beta- and sigma-convergence of stock market returns, we assess changes over time in the degree of stock market integration between Russia and China as well as between them and the United States, the euro area and Japan. Our analysis is based on national and sectoral data spanning the period September 1995 to October 2010. Overall, we find evidence for gradually increasing stock market integration after the 1997 Asian financial crisis and the 1998 Russian financial crisis. Following a major disruption caused by the 2008/2009 global financial crisis, the process of stock market integration resumes between Russia and China, and with world markets. Notably, the episode of sigma-divergence from the 2008/2009 crisis is stronger for China than Russia. We also find that the process of stock market integration and the impact of the recent crisis have not been uniform at the sectoral level, suggesting potential for diversification of risk across sectors.