According to a report by Shenzhen Special Zone Daily, during his inspection tour in Shenzhen on Jan. 5, 2015, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang suggested that following the example of the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect, a Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect should be launched too. The news received a warm response from the stock market, and concept stocks of "Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect" soon experienced a surge.

Leung Chun-ying, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong SAR, said on Jan. 6 that the launch of a Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect would benefit the development of Hong Kong as well as financial reform in China.

Last September, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) said that based on the experience acquired from the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect, CSRC would further strengthen the cooperation of the exchanges in Shenzhen and Hong Kong.

Authoritative figures in the securities industry generally think that a Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect will help connect the A share market and H share market and benefit the long-term development of both. The underlying stocks of the two markets are complementary in a sense, so the stock connect will expand the range of choice of investment. Wu Guoping, president of Guangdong Yirong Investment Management Company, says that a Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect would accelerate the internationalization of A shares, and in the longer term we may be able to invest in foreign stock markets from within China.

Leung Chun-ying also said that Hong Kong will keep in touch with relevant departments of the central government on this matter and try to launch the program as soon as possible. It is generally believed that it is only a matter of time before the stock connect is launched.

Yang Delong, Chief Investment Strategist of China Southern Fund Management, says: "It will not be long. Probably in the first half of this year the program will be launched." Other organizations predict that the fourth quarter will be the right time. Though opinions vary in terms of the exact timing, practitioners generally believe that the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect will be launched this year and the capital market of China will be further internationalized.