China’s first scheme to connect its largely off-limits stock market to a freely traded one offshore formed a beacon of optimism on an otherwise turbulent investment scene. The 19-month-old Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect lets just about anyone with money trade hundreds of shares from mainland China without special permits. They trade through the exchange in Hong Kong, an open market unlike Shanghai where the shares originate. The daily cap for those shares stands at about $2 billion. Another scheme like it is coming this year, as early as July per some news reports.
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