Mainland-HK stock connects to see hectic trading activity

A bold move to quadruple the daily quota of the two stock connects between the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong could essentially set the stage for a historic opening of the mainland's financial sector, but a higher level of regulation is required, said experts.

"The move, poised to increase integration of the mainland's onshore and offshore stock market trading, could make a big difference for years to come, if not immediately," said Fielding Chen Shiyuan, a Hong Kong-based Asia economist at Bloomberg Intelligence.

The daily northbound quotas for each of the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock connect schemes will be expanded fourfold to 52 billion yuan ($8.27 billion) from 13 billion yuan starting from May 1, People's Bank of China Governor Yi Gang told a panel discussion at the Boao Forum for Asia on Wednesday.