Shanghai-London Stock Connect expects December rollout

The much-anticipated Shanghai-London Stock Connect scheme is expected to take effect in December with more cooperation between fintech companies, a London official said as reported by 21jingji.com on Tuesday.

If the scheme takes effect, more Westerners can buy Chinese stocks, setting a good example of cooperation between cities and enterprises for better results, said Rajesh Agrawal, deputy mayor of London for business, during a visit to China with 12 leading fintech companies from the city.

Agrawal said more fintech companies are developing fast in Asian cities such as Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore, and Chinese company Alibaba's Singles Day shopping spree hitting a record high of $30.7 billion was another good example.

Agrawal believes cities with leading fintech companies should not compete with each other, he said, but instead cooperate for greater achievements together.

Many retail stores and shopping malls in the UK accept Alipay, a leading online payment method invented in China, indicating London is a big market for Chinese fintech companies.

On the other hand, China is itself a huge market for many Western companies, which provides great potential for further cooperation, Agrawal said during an exclusive interview with 21jingji.com.

Benefiting from domestic financial technology's innovation and popularization, China has become one of the world's most advanced and attractive markets in consumer finance. This is especially true as Chinese government continues to open its financial market, broadening expectations for foreign companies.

The Shanghai-London Stock Connect was jointly advanced by the governments of China and the UK in 2015. It aims to accelerate the opening up of China's financial market, and is expected to be conducive to capital market cooperation between China and the UK.