Shenzhen and Hong Kong stock exchanges to link-up?

It’s beginning to look as though Hong Kong’s bourse and the Shenzhen stock exchange may link-up.

According to a report from Bloomberg News, the Hong Kong bourse and Shenzhen Stock Exchange are currently examining the feasibility of connecting the two markets.

When the study is complete and a plan is in place the proposal will be submitted for regulatory approvals in both cities, the report continues.

The link-up is being touted as another step in liberalizing China’s economy, where the Communist Party still maintains a large amount of control over both the economy and currency.

“That’ll be a further step for China’s market to be globalized,” Wang Weijun, a strategist at Zheshang Securities Co. in Shanghai, told Bloomberg News.

This plan may go ahead despite the disappointing results from last year’s link-up of the Hong Kong and Shanghai stock exchanges, according to the Business Times.

According to the article, the connection has not generated substantial interest with foreign buyers, who’ve only used 25 percent of their quota for mainland shares and purchased under 6 percent of available stocks in Hong Kong.