China Weighs Expanding Wealth Management Connect Beyond Greater Bay Area
By Wang Xiaoqing and Denise Jia
China is preparing the next phase of its cross-border wealth management connect program amid mounting calls to expand it beyond the Greater Bay Area, as demand grows among investors in Shanghai, Beijing, and other cities.
The wealth management connect program, launched in September 2021, allows residents in Hong Kong, Macao and nine Chinese mainland cities in Guangdong to invest in each other’s financial products under a closed-loop system. In February 2024, the program underwent a “2.0” upgrade that raised quotas, widened eligible products and admitted brokerages alongside banks.
A “3.0” version is under discussion, with a draft expected as early as late 2025, according to people familiar with the matter. Diao Zhihai, head of international wealth management at China International Capital Corp. Ltd. (CICC), told Caixin on Thursday that clients outside the Bay Area are eager to join the program.
“The most discussed upgrade is expansion to markets like Shanghai and Beijing,” Diao told Caixin. “Another key expectation is mutual recognition of staff qualifications, so professionals can directly serve target clients.”
The 2.0 version boosted individual investment quotas from 1 million yuan ($138,000) to 3 million yuan, broadened the scope of eligible funds and bonds, and loosened sales restrictions. Brokerages began operating under the program in December 2024, with firms such as GF Securities Co. Ltd., CICC and Galaxy Securities Co. Ltd. completing inaugural trades.
Business has since grown, though more slowly than expected. By July 2025, the number of individual investors had more than doubled to 164,600, up from 73,400 in February 2024, according to the People’s Bank of China’s Guangdong branch. Cross-border fund transfers surged nearly sevenfold to 120.9 billion yuan.
In March, Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) Chief Executive Eddie Yue said regulators were weighing further changes, including larger quotas, a broader product list, looser sales rules, and possibly expansion beyond the Bay Area.
A small step came in June, when the HKMA allowed banks to hold three-way online meetings — by phone or video — with mainland clients and their partner banks in Hong Kong and the mainland to present eligible southbound products after a one-time client authorization.
Industry players say the program reflects a broader shift: mainland investors are increasingly focused on global asset allocation. Channels such as Qualified Domestic Limited Partnership (QDLP), mutual fund recognition and Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor (QDII) are also being fine-tuned, and CICC has been lobbying regulators to ease compliance limits in Hong Kong.
Product diversity is growing. In the 1.0 stage, 99% of southbound funds went into deposits. By June 2025, deposits accounted for 59%, while funds rose to 36% and bonds to 5%, HKMA data show.
Diao noted that exemptions now allow brokerages to offer certain customized products, such as privately placed bonds, to program clients. A broader 3.0 upgrade could accelerate that trend, giving firms greater scope to provide tailored portfolios.
As of July, 34 mainland banks and 14 securities firms were approved to handle fund transfers under the wealth management connect program. As of Wednesday, southbound investors had used 16.7 billion yuan of their quota, about 11% of the total. Northbound investors used just 246 million yuan, or 0.16%.
Contact reporter Denise Jia (huijuanjia@caixin.com)
caixinglobal.com is the English-language online news portal of Chinese financial and business news media group Caixin. Global Neighbours is authorized to reprint this article.
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