(Yicai Global) Oct. 19 -- Banks in the Chinese mainland took almost CNY2.5 million (USD391,000) from individual investors in Hong Kong and Macao in the first hour of the Wealth Management Connect opening this morning, according to data from the People’s Bank of China.

Individuals in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area can now buy financial products sold by banks in the area via the WMC, which consists of southbound and northbound routes depending on an investor’s location.

In a bid to expand the options for Hong Kong and mainland residents and institutions to make cross-border investments, the WMC was proposed in the blueprint for the Greater Bay Area that was published in February 2019.

After more than two years of preparation, the central bank’s Guangzhou and Shenzhen branches announced the first group of WMC pilot banks yesterday.

The southbound and northbound routes operated simultaneously this morning. The southbound leg supports multi-currency product transactions, including US dollars, euros, British pounds, Japanese yen and Singaporean dollars.

The WMC will expand the opening up of the banking sector in Hong Kong, Macao and the Chinese mainland, according to Yang Rong, an analyst at China Securities.

It will also speed up the yuan’s cross-border circulation in the Greater Bay Area, accelerate the currency’s internationalization, and gradually connect the two asset management markets in Guangdong and Hong Kong-Macao, Yang said.

The WMC will also meet the diversified asset allocation needs of customers, improve the capabilities of mainland asset managers and increase the amount of capital in the Hong Kong and Macao markets, the analyst added.

Editor: Tom Litting