SHANGHAI/HONG KONG - The Chinese mainland plans to introduce a program "as soon as possible" to let its financial companies in Hong Kong start yuan funds that will invest in mainland stocks, according to an official at the securities regulator.

The plan forms part of a mini-Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (QFII) program, said Wang Lin, director-general of the department of fund supervision at the China Securities Regulatory Commission.

"By now, the relevant systems have taken shape," Wang said in Hong Kong on Friday. "We are working with other agencies on refining them and introducing the service as soon as possible."