Hong Kong-Shenzhen stock exchange link-up

China’s pledge to launch the Hong Kong-Shenzhen stock exchange link-up by the end of the year may be at risk.

According to Reuters, the launch date declaration has been put on hold due to technical difficulties.

The nature of the technical issues has not been divulged.

As previously reported, the stock exchange link-up has been touted as another phase in liberalizing China’s economy, where the Communist Party still maintains a large amount of control over both the economy and currency. 

Although no date has been announced yet, it's assumed the link will go ahead despite the discouraging results from last year’s link-up of the Hong Kong and Shanghai stock exchanges.

Industry participants are surely irked by the delay, as the launch date was originally set for announcement in May. A launch announcement past August risks pushing the Hong Kong-Shenzhen link-up to the first half of 2016.

The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), China's currency regulator, and the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), its stock market watchdog, have yet to decide on the number of securities that will be tradable via the link-up.

The two groups must also decide how to distribute existing cross-border investment quotas once they link is complete, according to numerous media reports.

Beijing has previously stated that the stock exchange link-up would be completed in the second half of 2015.

Only time will tell how accurate this projection is.