This study use the daily stock price of the companies simultaneously listed in China and Hong-Kong to study whether there exists a stable linkage between the stock markets in China and in Hong-Kong and whether any structural break happened. The sampling period is from July 1st, 2003 to July 31st, 2007. We apply Johansen¡¦s cointegration test and Hansen¡¦s instability test to investigate whether the prices of A shares and H shares are cointegrated. We also apply Chow test and Quandt-Andrews test to study the potential structural break caused by the change of China¡¦s exchange policy. Main results are following: (1) Johansen¡¦s cointegration tests report that the stock prices of 18 companies (out of 29 companies) are cointegrated. (2) Hansen¡¦s instability tests report more companies¡¦ stock prices are cointegrated. (3) Chow tests reports that the relation between stock prices of A shares and H shares may has a structural break in 20 companies when RMB starts to appreciate. (4) The stock prices of some companies, whose stock prices were not cointegrated during the full sampling period, were cointegrated after structural break. Compared to previous literature, we find that the link between the stock markets in China and Hong-Kong become stronger as the reform of China¡¦s financial market is deeper.

This dissertation consists of two essays: the first investigates informed trading in the Chinese stock exchanges, and the second examines the persistency of correlation of currency future prices. For the first essay, using a sample of Chinese firms dual-listed in both the China mainland stock exchange and the Hong Kong stock exchange, I investigate the two types of informed trading - insider trading and trading derived from better analysis in the A-and H-share markets. The results suggest that H-shares have relatively more informed trading based on better analysis. In addition, the results from the firm size regression can also be seen as indirect evidence that larger firms tend to have trading with better analysis and less insider trading. These patterns are also confirmed in the sub-period analysis. However, I find no significant relation between informed trading and the relative pricing of A- and H-shares. For the second essay I examine the dynamic correlation between currency futures prices, focusing on the persistency of correlation of currency prices. Using the Dynamic Conditional Correlation model developed by Engle (2002), this study incorporates time-varying correlations into the analysis. The sample includes eight currency futures traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange from 1999 to 2008 and the U.S. dollar index future. The study finds that the Canadian dollar has the greater persistency while the Brazilian real has the weakest. No less important, the study finds that the time-varying conditional correlation between currency futures and the U.S. dollar futures is influenced by two types of liquidity: price impacts (Amihud illiquidity) and the logarithm of trading volume.

Over the past two decades a number of Chinese companies have issued shares on both the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and on one of the Chinese stock exchanges. The Hong Kong-listed H-shares of Chinese dual-listed companies have traded at a persistent discount rate relative to the China-listed A-shares. As these shares represent the same ownership rights and cash flows, the shares should theoretically trade at the same price. The price differential between H-shares and A-shares should decrease as international markets continue to converge. The paper analyzes the persistence of the discount rates and the effects of both market and investor sentiment on the price disparity between the two shares. The paper also examines whether certain sectors consistently trade at larger discount rates relative to others.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references.

No / Without making any distinction of the applicable accounting standards, this paper investigates, firstly, the value relevance of accounting information from 1999 to 2012 in different segments of the Chinese stock market. This investigation includes A-shares, prepared under Chinese Accounting Standards (CAS) for domestic firms; B-shares, prepared under either the International Accounting Standards (IAS) or International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for both domestic and overseas firms; and H-shares prepared under either the IAS or Hong Kong GAAP for Hong Kong and overseas firms. Then, the paper examines whether or not the converged IFRS with CAS, applicable from 2007 onwards, is more value relevant when compared with prior to the 2007's standards (CAS, IAS, Hong Kong GAAP for A-share, B-share, and H-share markets, respectively). Based on 34,020 firm-year observations and after controlling for industry- and year-fixed effects, the findings suggest that accounting information is value relevant with A- and B-share markets, while it is partially relevant with the H-share market. The paper finds that the converged IFRS with CAS is more value relevant in A-shares and B-shares and it is partially more value relevant with the H-share market. These findings have implications for both policymakers and investors since they provide further empirical evidence for the current policy procedure which harmonizes local GAAP with IFRS.