HONG KONG: The Hong Kong stock exchange said Thursday it is in talks with bourses on mainland China to set up a joint venture in the city, in the latest step to boost economic integration.
HKEx, the world's most valuable exchange operator, said in a statement that it has agreed to enter into "detailed discussions" with the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges over a possible tie-up.
"Currently the possible areas of business operation of the joint venture company include, but are not limited to, the development of index and other equity derivative products and the compilation of new indexes," it said.
The announcement comes a day after China unveiled a series of measures to boost Hong Kong's economy, and reaffirmed the city's status as a hub for Beijing's goal to turn the yuan into a global currency rivalling the US dollar.
Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang also said Hong Kong, a former British colony that was returned to Chinese rule in 1997 but maintains its own legal and financial system, played an "irreplaceable role" in China's rapid economic growth.
Firms raised more than $50 billion in initial public offerings (IPO) in Hong Kong last year, making the Hong Kong's bourse the world's biggest IPO market in 2010, a title it claimed for the second year in a row.
Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011
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