A man walks past London Stock Exchange in London, Britain.Photo:Xinhua

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The London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) said that it is "pleased" with the progress made with the Shanghai-London stock connect program and that London is "in the forefront of offshore finance for Chinese markets", an LSEG representative told the Global Times in an exclusive interview."Rapid progress is being made and we have a pipeline of further Global Depository Receipts (GDR) issuers in London, and a number of potential issuers reviewing Chinese Depositary Receipts (CDR) listings in Shanghai," said Brian Schwieger, Global Head of Equities at LSEG.He said response to Chinese securities firm Huatai Securities' listing on the London Stock Exchange has been "very positive," and Huatai has consistently remained the stock exchange's second most traded Asian GDR in London with over $1.8 billion being traded by end of October.After Huatai, Chinese insurance giant China Pacific Insurance (Group) Co also announced in September that it would issue GDRs on the London Stock Exchange.LSEG is also engaged in educating potential issuers on the benefits of participating in the stock link program in partnership with the Shanghai Stock Exchange, he said.The maturing stock connect program, along with the growing offshore renminbi bonds listing in London and the recently launched Global Equity Segment initiatives covering a number of mainland-based companies, put London "in the forefront of offshore finance for Chinese markets," Schwieger said.The number of renminbi bonds in London has also significantly grown, with 32 new offshore renminbi bonds listings in London in the first nine months of the year, compared to 29 in the whole of 2018, Schwieger said."The London Stock Exchange Group remains committed to working collaboratively with governments, regulators and market participants to enhance and expand the connections between the UK and Chinese markets," he said.The LSEG has expressed similar viewpoints of emphasizing cooperation with mainland capital markets in a statement when it turned down the acquisition offer from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.In that statement published on September 13, following an abrupt offer from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, LSEG said it recognizes the scale of opportunity in China and value their relations with China.It also said LSEG values its partnership with the Shanghai Stock Exchange which is their "preferred" and "direct" channel, instead of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, to access opportunities with mainland markets.LSEG didn't comment on Hong Kong-related questions raised by the Global Times.Global Times