BEIJING, March 24 -- The head of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) Thursday called for the Central Government to adopt measures that would allow mainland Chinese investors access to stocks and bonds traded on Hong Kong's market.

    Joseph Yam, chief executive of HKMA, said such changes would improve the efficiency of the mainland financial markets and offer mainland investors more investment choices. The shift would also support Hong Kong's status as a major financial center, Yam said.

    "When domestic regulations permit, consideration should be given to introducing Hong Kong financial instruments, especially the securities issued by domestic organizations, for sale on the mainland," he said. This could be done through dual listings or depositary receipts, Yam said.

    Many of the mainland's top companies have listings only on the Hong Kong stock market, which effectively puts the shares off limits to mainland investors, but makes them easily available to international investors. The mainland's strict capital controls mean that individual investors generally cannot own financial assets outside the mainland banking system.

    The mainland's stock markets in Shanghai and Shenzhen have lagged as fundraising centers for local firms because of a multiyear slide in share prices that has only recently shown signs of reversing and ongoing regulatory changes that have kept new initial public offerings bottled up.

(Source: Shenzhen Daily/Agencies)