All About the U.K.-China Plan to Link Stock Markets

The U.K. and China are linking their stock exchanges. The London-Shanghai Stock Connect, as it will be known, will allow companies listed on one venue to issue shares on the other. It’s the latest cross-border push by China to increase access to its financial system and broaden the reach of its companies and currency. But don’t expect a surge in late-night trading.

Correct -- time zones and rule differences make that all but impossible. The tie-up between the London Stock Exchange and the Shanghai Stock Exchange will, however, give Chinese companies the ability to raise capital in Europe’s largest equity market. London-listed companies will be able to issue shares, but not raise fresh capital, in China. The London end of the link starts June 17, more than six months later than originally expected. Fang Xinghai, vice chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, in a Bloomberg Television interview, had blamed the U.K.’s Brexit distraction for the delay.