Hong Kong – China Stock Connect (“China Connect”) is a mutual market access program through which Hong Kong and international investors can trade shares listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) and Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE) via the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (SEHK) and their existing clearinghouse. As a member of SEHK, IBKR provides you with direct access to trade with eligible listed products on the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchange. IBKR clients with China Connect trading permissions will be eligible to trade SSE/SZSE securities through Shanghai and Shenzhen - Stock Connect.

Among the different types of SSE/SZSE-listed securities, only A shares (shares in mainland China-based companies that trade on Chinese stock exchange) are included in the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Connect.

Shanghai Connect includes all the constituent stocks of the SSE 180 Index, SSE 380 Index and all the SSE-listed A shares that have corresponding H shares listed on the SEHK.

Product List and Stock Codes for SSE

Shenzhen Connect includes all the constituent stocks of the SZSE Component Index, the SZSE Small/Mid Cap Innovation Index that have a market capitalization of not less than RMB 6 billion and all the SZSE-listed A shares that have corresponding H shares listed on SEHK.

Product List and Stock Codes for SZSE

IBKR Commission for Trading SSE/SZSE Securities

Same as trading Hong Kong stocks, IBKR charges only 0.08% of trade value as a commission with a minimum CNH 15 per order. Detailed fee rates can be found in the Hong Kong – China Stock Connect Northbound fee table.

Daily Quota

Trading under Shanghai Connect and Shenzhen Connect is subject to a Daily Quota. The Daily Quota is applied on a “net buy” basis. The Daily Quota limits the maximum net buy value of cross-boundary trades under Shanghai Connect and Shenzhen Connect each day.

If the Northbound Daily Quota Balance drops to zero or the Daily Quota is exceeded during the opening call auction session, new buy orders will be rejected. Or if it happens during a continuous auction session or closing call auction session, no further buy orders will be accepted for the remainder of the day. SEHK will resume the Northbound buying service on the following trading day.

SEHK will also publish the remaining balance of the Aggregate Quota and Daily Quota.

For details, please refer to HKEX Stock Connect FAQ or HKEX Stock Connect Rule 1407

Trading Information of Shanghai and Shenzhen Connect

*Due to the unsynchronized settlement cycle, clients who exchange CNH themselves should execute the Forex trade one day prior to the stock trade (T-1) to avoid the extra day’s interest payment (considering normal settlement without involving holidays).

Trading Hours

Half-day Trading

If a Northbound trading day is a half-trading day in the Hong Kong market, it will continue until respective Connect Market is closed. Refer to the exchange website for holiday trading arrangements and additional information.

Disclosure Obligation

If client holds or controls up to 5% of the issued shares of China Connect, the client is required to report in writing to the China Securities Regulatory Commission (“CSRC”) and the relevant exchange, and inform the Mainland listed company within three working days of reaching 5%.

The client is not allowed to continue purchasing or selling shares in that Mainland listed company during the three days notification period. Visit the IBKR Knowledge Base for more information.

Shareholding Restriction

A single foreign investor’s shareholding in a Mainland listed company is not allowed to exceed 10% of the company’s total issued shares, while all foreign investors’ shareholding in the A shares of the listed company is not allowed to exceed 30% of its total issued shares. Visit the IBKR Knowledge Base for more information.

Forced-sale Arrangement

Each IBKR client is not allowed to hold more than a specific percentage of the China Connect listing company's total issued shares. HKEX requires the client to follow the forced-sell requirements if the shares exceed the limit:

Margin Financing

Margin trading in China Connect securities will subject to restrictions and only certain A shares will be eligible for margin trading. Eligible Securities, as determined by SSE and SZSE from time to time, are listed on the HKEX website. 

According to the relevant rules of SSE and SZSE, either market may suspend margin trading activities in specific A shares when the volume of margin trading activities for a specific A share exceeds the prescribed threshold. The market will resume margin trading activities in the affected A share when its volume drops below a prescribed threshold.

Stock Borrowing and Lending (SBL)

SBL in China Stock Connect Securities is subject to restrictions set by the SSE or SZSE and stated in the Rules of the Exchange.
IBHK does not offer this service at the moment.

Eligible Short Selling Securities

SBL for the purpose of short selling will be limited to those China Stock Connect Securities that are eligible for both buy orders and sell orders through Shanghai and Shenzhen Connect (i.e., excluding Connect Securities that are only eligible for sell orders).
IBHK does not offer this service at the moment.

Trading Shenzhen ChiNext and Shanghai Star shares

Trading Shenzhen ChiNext and Shanghai Star shares are limited to institutional professional investors.

Holidays

Clients will only be allowed to trade China Connect on days where Hong Kong and Mainland markets are both open for trading and banking services are available in both Hong Kong and Mainland markets on the corresponding settlement days. This arrangement is essential in ensuring that investors and brokers will have the necessary banking support on the relevant settlement days when they will be required to make payments.

The following table illustrates the holiday arrangement of Northbound trading of SSE/SZSE Securities:

Severe Weather Conditions

Information on the trading arrangement available under severe weather conditions can found on the HKEx website. 

Where to Learn More?

Please refer to the following exchange website links for additional information regarding Hong Kong China Stock Connect:

• About Stock Connect
• Getting Started – Stock Connect (PDF)

If you have any questions regarding Hong Kong-China Stock Connect, please contact IBKR Client Services for further information.
 

1. Total Order Size (TOS) – the total number of shares the trader is willing to purchase (sell) as the price falls (increases);
2. Initial Component Size (ICS) – the number of shares to be purchased (sold) at the Starting Price;
3. Subsequent Component Size (SCS) – the additional number of shares to be purchased (sold) at each Price Increment (at successively lower prices in the case of a purchase and higher in the case of a sale). If a SCS is not entered, the ICS will be used for all component orders.
4. Starting Price (SP) – the price at which you are willing to purchase (sell) the Initial Component Size
5. Price Increment (PI) – in the case of a purchase (sale), this is the decrease (increase) in price at which each successive component order is to be executed.

1. TP = (((ICS/SCS) -1) * PI) + SP
2. BP = SP – (((TOS - ICS)/SCS) * PI

1. TOS = 4,000;
2. ICS = 1,000;
3. SCS = 500;
4. SP = $20.00
5. PI = $0.05

1. Profit taking orders – the Scale Trader may be set to send an offsetting order to take advantage of periodic price surges or if the trader has reached a specified profit objective. This feature may be enabled by checking the box titled “Create profit taking order” and specifying the Profit Offset. Using the example above and a Profit Offset of $1.00, once the ICS was filled at $20.00 and an SCS submitted at $19.95, two profit orders would also be submitted, one for 500 shares at $21.00 and another for 500 shares at $21.05. It should be noted that profit orders are scaled to the SCS regardless of the size of the ICS and that if the ICS > SCS then the profit order price is determined using the PI along with the Profit Offset. 
2. Restore size after taking profit – if using the profit taking orders feature, the trader can enable the repurchase of shares sold at a profit at the price they were originally bought at by checking the box titled “Restore size after taking profit”. This feature remains active whenever the price is within the range of TP + Profit Offset and BP. Using the example above, if order to sell 500 shares at $21.00 was executed this fill quantity would be put back into the original order at $20.00 and the order submitted at $19.95 would be cancelled.
3. Restart Scale Trader & Restart Scale Trader with Filled Component Size – these features allow traders using the profit taking order and restore size features to restart the algorithm if stopped, helping to resume the order starting from the point at which the scaled sequence left off.
4. Auto Price Adjustment – selecting this check box allows for an increase or decrease in the starting price automatically at stated time intervals (e.g., increase $0.01 every hour)
5. Scale Trader Page – provides a view of the real-time status of scale orders, including filled and total quantity, filled, remaining, and total value, and the percent filled for each scale. Accessible via the Page and then Create Scale Trader Page menu options.
6. View Scale Progress - right-click on the scale order line and select View Scale Progress. This will open a window displaying the complete scale price ladder, the Open/Filled component list for the parent scale order, and the Open/Filled component list for the child profit orders.

1. Products – any product offered by IB other than mutual funds (e.g., stocks, options, ETFs, bonds, futures, Forex);
2. Order Type - limit or relative (relative not offered for combination orders)
3. Time in Force – Day, Good-til-Cancel or Day-til-Cancel. May also specify if order is allowed to be filled outside of regular trading hours, if executions may be routed and executed during pre-open session and whether to ignore opening auction.