沪伦通计划引发质疑 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.

资产管理公司和基础设施提供商表示，乔治攠斯本(George Osborne)访华期间宣布的上海和伦敦股市连通计划面临数个障碍。

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.

英国财政大臣昨日宣布对伦敦和上海证券交易所的“正式连通”展开可行性研究，但伦敦证交所(London Stock Exchange)表示，虽然最近几个星期已就该问题进行过讨论，但没有谈妥什么细节。

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.

咨询公司凯投宏观(Capital Economics)表示，这一项目“炒作大于实质”，需要很久才能真正启动。

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

凯投宏观表示：“中国股市近期的波动性和官方的公开干预，势必会进一步减小它对国际投资者的吸引力。”

“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.”

“中国运用‘连通’计划的目的，是让政府可以严密监测和限制流动，其目的在很大程度上是避免破坏稳定的流动。”

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.

据资产管理公司和基础设施提供商表示，英中双方必须克服的种种障碍包括：对卖空的有限支持，围绕资产可互换性的不确定性，结算交易的单日时间安排，以及人民币作为唯一结算货币。

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

总部位于都柏林的投资集团Brown Brothers Harriman负责监管信息的肖恩图菲(Sean Tuffy)说：“最大的问题将是时区问题。”

“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.”

“伦敦开市的时候，上海恰好闭市，反之亦然。清算与结算将变得非常复杂。从表面上看，由于时区不同，结算窗口对不上号。此外，在当前的沪港通机制下，上海/香港股市与银行必须在交易日和结算日同时开门。”

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.

中英两国的金融部门及央行预计将参与此次可行性研究，并将参考一年前上海与香港股票交易所之间建立的类似的、开创性的连通机制。

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.

在缓慢启动之后，沪港通机制已成为更受海外基金公司欢迎的投资中国股市的方式，尽管自内地股市今夏暴跌以来交易量有所放缓。