Based in China, trading in US stocks

A man consults with an employee of Jimu.com, an Internet-based investment tool, at a fair in Beijing. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Agreed Beijing-based finance professional Lu Dong, 29, who started using Tigerbrokers in late December. He set up his trading account in just two working days. The ease with which one can set up a share trading account using apps is a big factor that is driving Chinese retail investors toward overseas stock markets, he said.

"The old system of opening an account was very time-consuming and involved a lot of paperwork," he said. He said he expects higher returns on his US stock market investments.

"Plus, in the US, you can profit from both declines and rises in stock prices. It can also offset some risks in investments in China's stock market. I think it wouldn't be too difficult for me to get an annual yield between 12 percent and 13 percent in the US."

Not everyone agrees. Wang Xing, operations director at Snowball Finance, one of the earliest social networking and information portals serving Chinese investors in the US stock market, said: "I think the number of Chinese investing in US stock markets will grow but at a slow pace."

For, a large number of US-listed Chinese companies have been going private recently, which will reduce the number of investment targets for Chinese investors, he said. China's foreign exchange rules cap the amount of yuan that individuals can convert into foreign currency at $50,000 per year. This rule is seen containing Chinese retail investors' play in US stocks. But not for long. Industry observers said they are optimistic the rule will be eased sooner or later.