Nine hundred kilos of gold, worth 300 billion yuan (US$38.45 billion) swapped hands on Friday evening, in the first cross-border trading under the newly launched “Gold Connect”, that links the gold markets of Hong Kong and Shenzhen.

Under the scheme, mainland investors can trade yuan-denominated 1 kilogram gold bars in Hong Kong through one of the city’s 70 exchange members in Qianhai, the special economic zone in Shenzhen designed to facilitate the development of financial services that complement Hong Kong.