Mainland funds take detour to Hong Kong to gamble on off-exchange options for high returns, with hidden risks behind.

"Currently, almost all individual businesses in mainland China have come to a halt, with most channels closed." A channel person who has been involved in off-exchange derivatives business in Shenzhen introduced recent industry changes to a reporter from Securities Times. However, although individual businesses have been suspended, they have not disappeared. With mainland regulatory authorities blocking individual investors from participating in off-exchange options through channels, some funds and trading demands are rapidly shifting to overseas markets. Opening accounts, signing contracts, quoting prices, placing orders, and settling, a whole set of off-exchange options business that was originally active in the gray area of mainland China has now been transferred to Hong Kong brokerage and channel institutions. A survey by Securities Times found that a cross-border gray chain centered around "off-exchange options of A-share stocks" is forming. Individual investors in mainland China leverage their bets on the rise of A-share stocks through Hong Kong accounts, borrowing channels, and placing orders through WeChat groups; while some small and medium Hong Kong brokerages, channel institutions, and overseas subsidiaries of Chinese brokerages provide high-leverage trading tools for funds through income swaps, vanilla options, and other structures. Stimulated by cases of sudden wealth like "earning 5.5 times in 20 days," individual investors have rushed into the market. Meanwhile, behind the high returns lie regulatory arbitrage, compliance disputes, legal risks, a complex ecosystem where it is difficult to distinguish between true and false gambling, and even some entities leveraging off-exchange options of foreign stocks to carry out insider trading and other securities violations.