The trading link is expected to go live at the end of this year, according to the report. Talks to list HSBC shares in Shanghai first began in 2007, it added.

The plan is for HSBC to issue Chinese depositary receipts (CDRs), the FT said.

"We are studying the proposed framework for the listing of Chinese Depositary Receipts under the Shanghai-London Stock Connect but cannot comment further at this time," an HSBC spokesperson said.

China's securities regulator last week published rules for the cross-border stock connect scheme, which only allows investors to buy foreign stocks indirectly, in the form of depository receipts.

(Reporting by Shashwat Awasthi in Bengaluru; editing by Patrick Graham)