(MENAFN) In its most recent effort to open up the capital markets, China will extend the trading days of the stock connect programs between the mainland and Hong Kong, the nation's top securities regulator announced Friday.

The Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect and Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect trading days that were previously closed because of settlement arrangement factors will reopen, according to a statement from the China Securities Regulatory Commission.

Following the adjustment, the stock connect programs can trade on the days that the Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong bourses share common trading hours. The number of days currently unavailable for trading is predicted to be cut in half by the trading calendar optimization.

With the launch of the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect in 2014 and the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect in 2016, respectively, mainland and foreign investors now have direct access to one another's stock market.

The adjustment will strengthen Hong Kong's status as an international financial center and increase the attractiveness of the capital markets on the mainland and in Hong Kong, according to the statement.

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