滬倫通計劃引發質疑 Doubt cast on plan to link up with Shanghai stock exchange

The plan to link the British and Chinese stock markets, announced by George Osborne on a trip to China, faces several hurdles, according to asset managers and infrastructure providers.

資產管理公司和基礎設施提供商表示，喬治攠斯本(George Osborne)訪華期間宣佈的上海和倫敦股市連通計劃面臨數個障礙。

A feasibility study to “formally connect” the London and Shanghai stock exchanges was announced yesterday, but although discussions have taken place in recent weeks, few details have been confirmed, the London Stock Exchange said.

英國財政大臣昨日宣佈對倫敦和上海證券交易所的“正式連通”展開可行性研究，但倫敦證交所(London Stock Exchange)表示，雖然最近幾個星期已就該問題進行過討論，但沒有談妥什麼細節。

Capital Economics, a consultancy, said the venture was “more hype than substance”, adding it would be a long time before it got off the ground.

諮詢公司凱投宏觀(Capital Economics)表示，這一項目“炒作大於實質”，需要很久才能真正啓動。

“Recent volatility and open official interference in China’s equity markets will surely have further reduced the appeal for international investors,” Capital Economics said.

凱投宏觀表示：“中國股市近期的波動性和官方的公開干預，勢必會進一步減小它對國際投資者的吸引力。”

“China’s approach of using ‘connect’ schemes is designed to allow the authorities to closely monitor and limit flows in large part in order that destabilising flows can be avoided.”

“中國運用‘連通’計劃的目的，是讓政府可以嚴密監測和限制流動，其目的在很大程度上是避免破壞穩定的流動。”

The obstacles that the two sides will have to overcome include limited support for short selling, uncertainty over asset fungibility, a single-day timeframe for settling trades and use of the renminbi as the sole settlement currency, according to asset managers and infrastructure providers.

據資產管理公司和基礎設施提供商表示，英中雙方必須克服的種種障礙包括：對賣空的有限支持，圍繞資產可互換性的不確定性，結算交易的單日時間安排，以及人民幣作爲唯一結算貨幣。

“The biggest issue would be the timezone problem,” said Sean Tuffy, head of regulatory intelligence at Brown Brothers Harriman in Dublin.

總部位於都柏林的投資集團Brown Brothers Harriman負責監管信息的肖恩圖菲(Sean Tuffy)說：“最大的問題將是時區問題。”

“When London is open, Shanghai is closed, and vice versa. The clearing and settlement would be a lot trickier. On the face of it, because of the time zones, the settlement windows don’t line up. Additionally, under the current Stock Connect, Shanghai/Hong Kong’s markets and banks must be opened on both trade and settlement dates.”

“倫敦開市的時候，上海恰好閉市，反之亦然。清算與結算將變得非常複雜。從表面上看，由於時區不同，結算窗口對不上號。此外，在當前的滬港通機制下，上海/香港股市與銀行必須在交易日和結算日同時開門。”

Financial ministries and central banks on both sides are expected to take part in the feasibility study, which will look at the similar, and groundbreaking, link set up a year ago between the Shanghai and Hong Kong stock exchanges.

中英兩國的金融部門及央行預計將參與此次可行性研究，並將參考一年前上海與香港股票交易所之間建立的類似的、開創性的連通機制。

After a slow start, the Stock Connect programme has become more popular with overseas fund managers as a way to access shares in China, although volumes have slowed since the Chinese market crash over the summer.

在緩慢啓動之後，滬港通機制已成爲更受海外基金公司歡迎的投資中國股市的方式，儘管自內地股市今夏暴跌以來交易量有所放緩。