Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan said Beijing’s investigation into three brokerages was driven by concerns over foreign exchange leakage and protecting retail investors.
The comments came during a closed-door round table on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting of the New Champions in Dalian on June 24.
Chan noted that Beijing wants Hong Kong to succeed but must proceed carefully to avoid destabilising capital outflows and investor losses.
He highlighted differences in investor bases, saying mainland investors are mainly retail while those in Hong Kong are mainly institutional.
The probe targets Futu Securities, Tiger Brokers and Long Bridge.