Better domestic financial products required

SOME MAINLAND RESIDENTS are buying insurance in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region as a kind of investment to evade the central government's foreign exchange controls.

While some Hong Kong insurance companies do limit the amount that can be paid with a UnionPay bank card, which is the main channel of payment of mainland residents, that's still far from a ban.

The financial authorities should be praised for following market rules instead of issuing any ban. Actually, a ban would hardly be effective because as long as people need to invest outward they will find ways to do so despite a ban.