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China's Illicit Cross-Border Investing Crackdown to Affect Up to HK$250 Billion in Assets

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Beijing has escalated its crackdown on illicit cross-border investing, moving beyond banning new accounts to a full governance overhaul covering marketing, trading, fund transfers and tech support.

A two-year rectification period will clear existing violations, according to a Sunday news release by CITIC Securities Research.

Affected accounts hold an estimated HK$200 billion to HK$250 billion in assets, though actual selling pressure remains limited.

Residents' overseas asset allocation demand is expected to shift to compliant channels such as Stock Connect and QDII.

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