On the 26th, the newly revised "Implementation Rules for the Pilot Implementation of Cross border Wealth Management Connect Business in the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area" (hereinafter referred to as the "Implementation Rules") was officially implemented, marking the launch of version 2.0 of the "Cross border Wealth Management Connect". In January of this year, the People's Bank of China Guangdong Branch and other departments jointly issued implementation rules, focusing on improving convenience, expanding the market, and standardizing services, optimizing the pilot policy of "Cross border Wealth Management Connect". The Implementation Rules clarify the optimization of investor access conditions, adjust the participation conditions for mainland investors in the "Southbound Connect" business, add optional conditions for mainland investors to have an average annual income of no less than 400000 yuan in the past three years, and support more residents of the Greater Bay Area to participate in the pilot program. Appropriately increase the limit for individual investors, from 1 million RMB to 3 million RMB. Expand the scope of business pilot projects, increase the participation of securities companies in pilot projects, and include RMB deposit products from mainland sales banks in the scope of Northbound joint venture products. The risk level of public securities investment funds has been expanded from "R1 to R3" to "R1 to R4" (excluding commodity futures funds). Further optimize the promotion and sales arrangements, refine and clarify the business behavior norms of domestic sales institutions and domestic cooperative institutions, and guide financial institutions to provide high-quality financial services to residents of the Greater Bay Area. "The 2.0 version of 'Cross border Wealth Management Connect' will optimize institutional arrangements and promote interconnectivity in the financial markets of the Greater Bay Area. The pilot program for residents in the Greater Bay Area to participate in business will be more convenient, with more diverse participation channels and a wider range of available wealth management products," said an industry insider. Financial institutions welcome the 2.0 version of Cross border Wealth Management Connect and will launch more high-quality products and services. For example, Li Hualun, the head of wealth management and personal banking at Hang Seng Bank, stated that the 2.0 version of "Cross border Wealth Management Connect" responds to investor demand, is conducive to the construction of Hong Kong's offshore RMB market, and will further consolidate Hong Kong's position as an international financial center and a global offshore RMB business center. Guan Jiamin, Executive Director and Head of Retail Banking and Wealth Management Business Planning, Customer Strategy, and Industrial Ecosystem at DBS Bank (Hong Kong) Limited, stated that the bank plans to launch product discounts such as fund subscription fee exemptions. The pilot program of "Cross border Wealth Management Connect" began in 2021 and is increasingly favored by investors in the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area. According to data from the Guangdong Branch of the People's Bank of China, in 2023, the "Cross border Wealth Management Connect" business added 28400 individual investors, a year-on-year increase of 49.5%, and the cross-border wealth management remittance amount was 10.6 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.8 times. (Lai Xin She)