OREANDA-NEWS. December 15, 2014. The Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect program made its grand opening in Shanghai Stock Exchange and Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

 As the first commercial bank approved to be the settlement bank for the "Southbound" Trading Business, ICBC has duly performed its duties and provided investors with efficient, convenient and safe fund settlement service. On the first day, 47 securities companies conducted related clearing for the "Southbound" Trading Business via ICBC, accounting for 52.8% of the 89 securities traders qualified for participating in the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect program. ICBC was ranked the first among peers by the number of customers and transaction value.

As one of the first settlement banks for "Southbound" Trading Business, ICBC has worked out a package of service solutions for the program, covering cross-border fund settlement, RMB-HKD exchange and account settlement & overdraft. Its Head Office, Shanghai Branch and Hong Kong-based wholly-owned subsidiary ICBC (Asia) have cooperated with each other to continuously provide the program with quality and efficient settlement service. Meanwhile, by leveraging its extensive professional experience in settlement of securities transactions and industry-leading IT system, ICBC has ensured stable and secure settlement service for "Southbound" Trading Business on the first day.