(Yicai) June 8 -- After Chinese regulators launched a crackdown on unlicensed cross-border stock trading services for mainlanders, cross-border securities firm Valuable Capital announced it will wind down its business in the Chinese mainland.

From June 15, Valuable Capital’s existing mainland investors will not be able to open or add positions for all investment products, nor deposit funds or securities into their accounts from inside the country, the firm announced on June 6, adding that position reductions and transfers-out will be unaffected.

Futu Holdings, Longbridge Securities, and Tiger Brokers issued similar statements in the previous days, after the China Securities Regulatory Commission said on May 22 that the three fintech companies operated unlicensed cross-border securities, fund, and futures businesses in the mainland, and it would confiscate their illegal gains and impose fines on them.

The CSRC gave Futu, Longbridge, and Tiger Brokers a two-year grace period from May 2026 to May 2028, during which existing mainland accounts are only allowed to sell or transfer funds, as they are forbidden from depositing or buying. After the grace period, all investor accounts will be shut down, and the firms will fully withdraw from the mainland market.

The adjustments will only affect accounts when holders are in the Chinese mainland, according to a customer service staff at Valuable Capital’s Huashengtong app. “If they travel to Hong Kong or overseas, the functions will remain unaffected.” 

If an account is opened by a foreign customer, its functions will be restricted when the customer is in the Chinese mainland, but they will be restored when the customer is offshore, the staffer explained.

This means that regardless of whether Huashengtong accounts are opened under mainlanders or offshore customers, any trade or fund transfer initiated from within the mainland will be affected by the adjustments.

Valuable Capital was founded in Hong Kong by Chinese internet giant Sina and its social media platform Weibo. In March 2024, it announced it would remove Huashengtong from app stores in the Chinese mainland, clarifying that this adjustment would not affect existing mainland customers from continuing to use the app.

Editor: Futura Costaglione