(Yicai) Feb. 27 -- The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area has officially initiated the new version of the cross-boundary wealth management connect scheme.

The new version of the cross-boundary WMC further optimizes requirements for the admission of investors, increases the maximum quota individuals can invest, and expands the scope of piloted businesses, according to the announcement released yesterday by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.

Launched in September 2021, the cross-boundary WMC allows eligible Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, and Macao residents in the Greater Bay Area to invest in wealth management products distributed by banks in each other’s market through a closed-loop funds flow channel established between their respective banking systems.

Individual investors who want to participate in the cross-boundary WMC need to have household registration in the nine Chinese mainland cities in the Greater Bay Area or have paid social insurance or individual income tax in those cities for two consecutive years, according to the new version of the scheme. Before, they were expected to have paid social insurance or individual income tax in those cities for at least five years.

At the same time, the above individual investors need to have an average personal annual income over the nearest three years of no less than CNY400,000 (USD55,570).

The new version of the cross-boundary WMC also tripled the individual investor quota to CNY3 million (USD416,760), which should be split equally in case the investors decide to select both a bank and a securities firm for investment.

In addition, the number of securities companies involved in the cross-boundary WMC and Chinese yuan-denominated deposit products sold by mainland banks through the northbound leg of the scheme was increased.

Some 71,000 investors had participated in the cross-boundary WMC as of the end of January, according to official data. Among them, 46,000 were from Hong Kong and Macao, and 25,000 from the Chinese mainland. The value of funds transferred through the scheme totaled CNY13.8 billion (USD1.9 billion) as of Jan. 31.

Some lenders have already launched new products to adapt to the new version of the cross-boundary WMC. “After the issuance of this new version, Standard Chartered will facilitate the upgrading of corresponding products and services,” said Anthony Lin, chief executive officer of the Greater Bay Area branch of Standard Chartered.

A Macao resident told Yicai that he bought his first batch of Chinese yuan deposits online through the cross-boundary WMC from Bank of China after the new version was introduced. “Many of my friends started increasing their holdings of yuan-denominated assets, so I decided to try,” he added.

Editor: Futura Costaglione