Premier Li Keqiang announced plans to introduce the long-awaited through train in April, allowing mutual stock market access for investors on the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong.

The pilot program, expected to be officially launched in October, is said to have been main reason behind recent rally in the two markets.

Initial rules regulated that Hong Kong investors will be able to trade 568 stocks in Shanghai with an upper limit of 300 billion yuan, while mainland investors will be allowed to invest up to 250 billion yuan in 268 Hong Kong stocks.

At present, institutional investors outside the Chinese mainland can invest on the Shanghai and Shenzhen bourses only via the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors program (QFII) and the renminbi Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors program (RQFII).

Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect will pave way for the further opening up of mainland's capital markets and help promote the internationalization of renminbi, said the Hong Kong Exchanges in an announcement.

Investors track stock performance at a securities company in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, on Sept 26, 2014, as Shanghai Stock Exchange released detailed rules for the long-awaited market link between Chinese mainland and Hong Kong. [Photo/IC]

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