HONG KONG, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- Stock Connect, a landmark mutual market access program connecting Hong Kong and mainland equity markets, celebrated on Tuesday its sixth anniversary with record trading.

Since its launch, Stock Connect has seen sustained volume growth in both northbound and southbound trading, the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) said in a statement, adding that total value of shares held through the program is at an all-time record and there has been growing participation from both mainland and international investors.

The Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect was launched on November 17, 2014, while Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect was launched two years later on December 5, 2016, giving mainland and international investors direct access to each other's market from their home market.

Hong Kong and international investors held a total of 2.1 trillion yuan (about 320 billion U.S. dollars) worth of Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchange A-shares as at November 10, 2020, compared with 86.5 billion yuan at the end of 2014, shortly after the launch of Stock Connect.

Mainland investors held 1.88 trillion billion Hong Kong dollars (about 240 billion U.S. dollars) worth of Hong Kong-listed shares through Stock Connect as at November 10, 2020, up from 13.1 billion Hong Kong dollars at the end of 2014.

As at November 10, 2020, the total turnover of northbound trading reached 36.9 trillion yuan, with a net inflow of 1.12 trillion yuan, while 13.7 trillion Hong Kong dollars of shares were traded on the southbound leg, with a net inflow of 1.62 trillion Hong Kong dollars.

The daily trade value of Stock Connect hit new records in 2020 -- 191.16 billion yuan for northbound trading on July 7 and 60.17 billion Hong Kong dollars for southbound trading on July 6.

As Stock Connect continues to gain momentum, more international investors are enjoying faster access to the mainland's A-shares market and mainland investors are contributing to Hong Kong's growing market liquidity, the HKEX said.

The HKEX said enhancements to the Stock Connect program are ongoing, such as the broadening of its investment scope. It promised to work with mainland partners and regulators to bring more opportunities to investors and companies. (1 U.S. dollar equals 7.75 HK dollars, or 6.57 yuan)