A growing number of Hong Kong brokerages are restricting mainland Chinese investors from trading in the city’s stock market, in what is part of Beijing’s broader effort to prevent capital from flowing out of the country, according to a report by Chinese financial outlet Yicai.
Under the new rules, mainland investors who log into their Hong Kong accounts from a mainland IP address can only sell holdings and withdraw funds. They cannot deposit money or buy stocks. Investors logging in from Hong Kong IP addresses are unaffected. The restrictions began at Xingzheng International on September 7 and at Guotai Junan International on September 26, while Orient Financial Holdings will follow in October. Several firms also no longer open new accounts for people holding only mainland identification.
Industry sources attribute the changes to an enforcement plan issued in May by the China Securities Regulatory Commission and seven other agencies. It sets a two-year period of intensive enforcement, after which offshore firms must fully shut down mainland-facing websites and trading services. Online brokers Futu, Tiger and Longbridge adjusted their mainland business in June. Analysts note that mainland residents’ annual $50,000 foreign-exchange allowance cannot legally be used for overseas securities investment, which is the policy’s underlying rationale.
Not all firms have acted. China Merchants Securities International and Huatai International still allow normal buying, and some foreign institutions are waiting to see how enforcement unfolds.
Officials are steering investors toward approved channels: Stock Connect, the Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor scheme and the Cross-boundary Wealth Management Connect. A Hong Kong-based analyst said all three have limits, including tight QDII quotas, a Greater Bay Area restriction on wealth connect, and a 500,000 yuan ($70,000) threshold for Stock Connect. Impact on Hong Kong’s stock market is expected to be limited.
Source: Yicai, October 1, 2026
https://www.yicai.com/news/103383593.html