The Block Trade Facility is an important tool in extending the Exchange's services. A block trade comprises large buy and sell orders privately negotiated apart from the public auction market. Benefits to the market place include:
1. Price and execution certainty for large sized deals; and
2. Clearing House* guarantees for transactions that may otherwise have been executed over-the-counter (OTC); and
3. Added liquidity
Criteria for Block Trade
Each Block Trade must be executed in the manner and must satisfy the criteria set forth below:
1. Eligible Users
Block trades may be executed between the client accounts, house accounts and/or market maker accounts
of an Exchange Participant*.
2. Applicable Markets
The Block Trade Facility will be applicable to all products (except listed combination orders), contract
months and strike series listed on the HKATS, except the Mini-HSI futures and options and Mini-HHI
futures contracts.
3. Minimum Volume Threshold (MVT)
The minimum number of contracts of each product eligible for block trading is set forth below:
Stock index futures –100 contracts
Stock index options –100 contracts
Stock futures – 100 contracts
Stock options – 500 contracts
Options on stock futures – 100 contracts
HIBOR futures – 80 contracts#
HIBOR strips – 20 contracts
Three-Year Exchange Fund Note futures – 200 contracts
Gold Futures – 100 contracts
Dividend Futures - 100 contracts
HSI Volatility Index Futures – 100 contracts
# For a single order involving a spread or a strategy combination except HIBOR strips, at least one of the legs
of the spread or combination must meet the Minimum Volume Threshold.
4. Block Trade Order Aggregation
No aggregating of separate orders or combining of separate orders to generate a spread or strategy
combination block trade unless:
a. at least one of the separate orders from either side meets the MVT; and
b. the block trade does not involve futures contracts only; and
c. in the case of a spread or strategy combination, at least one of the separate orders comprising
an option leg satisfies the applicable MVT; and
d. authorizations have been received from Clients whose orders are being aggregated or combined
5. Block Trade Order Entry
Block trades must be negotiated and registered through HKATS during the normal trading hours of the
contracts and in a manner that is outlined in HKATS User’s Guide.
Information Dissemination
The price at which a Block Trade is executed will not be used in establishing the day-high, day-low, last traded price, Closing Quotation, or where applicable, the Final Settlement Price or Official Settlement Price of an Exchange Contract. The quantity of a Block Trade will be taken into account in the updating of the traded volume.
The symbol "EMP 1 BR" or "EMP D BR" will be displayed next to each Block Trade in the Ticker Window of HKATS terminal to differentiate the Block Trades from trades matched by orders entered into the Central Orderbook.
Clearing Arrangements
To protect the Clearing Houses from additional risk arising from Block Trades, the following measures will be implemented:
a. Novation of Block Trade
The registration of a Block Trade shall not occur until the Clearing House is satisfied that the Block Trade recorded in the Transaction Register of HKATS is a valid Block Trade and all criteria applicable to the Block Trade, including but not limited to the deposit of any Special Block Trade Margin, have been satisfied. If an Exchange Participant does not receive any oral or written notice from the Exchange or the respective Clearing Houses within 30 minutes of its execution of a Block Trade that the Block Trade is not valid or not registered with or cleared by the respective Clearing Houses for any reason, the Block Trade shall be deemed to be registered with the respective Clearing Houses and subject to the process of novation.
b. Special Block Trade Margin
If in the opinion of the Clearing House or the Exchange, the executed price of a Block Trade is not fair and reasonable or a significant deviation exists between the prevailing market price and the executed price, or if a Block Trade is executed at such a price that an intra-day margin call would have been triggered had the trade been executed as a normal trade in the Central Orderbook, the Clearing House may, within 30 minutes after the Block Trade is executed, call for Special Block Trade Margin from the relevant Clearing House Participants.
i. HKCC products
Any Special Block Trade Margin payable by an HKFE Clearing Corporation (HKCC) Participant will be debited from its relevant Direct Margin Debiting System (DMDS) bank account. If the amount to be debited from the account of the HKCC Participant cannot be fully covered by the surplus funds present in its account, HKCC will inform the HKCC Participant by phone or by any other means as HKCC may consider appropriate and the HKCC Participant shall forthwith ensure that there are sufficient funds deposited in its relevant DMDS bank account for debiting purpose.
No amount will be credited to HKCC Participants as a result of any Special Block Trade Margin call.
HKCC Participants are advised to arrange additional cover to deal with any potential Special Block Trade Margin.
ii. SEOCH products
Where Special Block Trade Margin is called for, SEHK Options Clearing House (SEOCH) will fax a Special Block Trade Margin Call Notice to the relevant SEOCH Participant. The SEOCH Participant shall arrange enough funding in its bank accounts in order to cover the Special Block Trade Margin call within one hour after notification or such shorter period as may from time to time be prescribed by SEOCH.
c. Deletion of Block Trade
If an Exchange Participant has been notified by the respective Exchanges or the Clearing Houses that a Block Trade executed by the Exchange Participant on HKATS is not valid or has not satisfied all the criteria applicable to the Block Trade, or the Block Trade will not be registered with or cleared by the respective Clearing Houses for any reason, or if the Exchange Participant fails to deposit any Special Block Trade Margin required by the respective Clearing Houses by the stipulated time, the Exchange in conjunction with the Clearing House will, without being required to give further notice to the Exchange Participant, delete the Block Trade as if the Block Trade had never been executed.
d. Trade Adjustments
i. HKCC products
In the event that a trade adjustment request relates to the internal or external transfer of a Block Trade, the transferring HKCC Participant shall immediately inform the Clearing House by telephone of the trade adjustment request as soon as it has been confirmed by the receiving HKCC Participant on DCASS. A trade adjustment request as confirmed by the receiving HKCC Participant on DCASS shall be submitted to the Clearing House within 5 minutes of the execution of the Block Trade on HKATS, but if the Block Trade is subsequently determined by the Clearing House or the Exchange to be invalid for any reason (including where the transferring or receiving HKCC Participant fails to satisfy any Special Block Trade Margin called within 30 minutes of execution by the prescribed time), the Block Trade will not be registered or novated with the Clearing House and any trade adjustment request submitted to the Clearing House in respect of the Block Trade will be rejected by the Clearing House.
ii. SEOCH products
Trade adjustments in relation to a Block Trade must be made no later than 5 minutes after the Block Trade is executed on HKATS. In the event that a trade adjustment request relates to Open/Close or Account Transfer adjustment, the executing SEOCH Participant shall immediately inform SEOCH by telephone of such request as soon as it has been executed on DCASS. If the trade adjustment relates to Give-up/Take-up, the give-up SEOCH Participant shall immediately inform SEOCH by telephone of such request as soon as it has been confirmed by the take-up SEOCH Participant on DCASS. Notwithstanding the foregoing, SEOCH has the sole discretion to accept or reject any Block Trade adjustment made after prescribed deadline. In the event that the Block Trade is subsequently determined by SEOCH or the Exchange to be invalid for any reason, trade adjustments made to the Block Trade will be rejected by SEOCH.
e. Clearing House's Discretion on Registration of Block Trade
The Clearing House shall have absolute discretion to determine the acceptance or refusal for registering and clearing any Block Trade Contract executed through HKATS. The Clearing House shall give notice to the Exchange and to the relevant Clearing House Participants of any decision to refuse to register and clear any Block Trade Contract.
Market Surveillance
Each Exchange Participant shall have in place a telephone recording system to record all Block Trade orders received from and confirmation of executed Block Trades provided through the telephone. Each Exchange Participant shall ensure that such telephone recordings are maintained as part of its records for at least 3 months. Exchange Participants are reminded to observe Section 3.9 on Order Recording in the Code of Conduct for Persons Registered with the Securities and Futures Commission. Block trade activities between clients and Exchange Participants or two Exchange Participants shall be recorded and made available for checking on request. If necessary, the Exchange will require Participants to submit satisfactory evidence that Block Trades are executed in accordance with the Block Trade rules.
Note:
Clearing House refers to the HKFE Clearing Corporation (HKCC) and the SEHK Options Clearing House (SEOCH).
Exchange Participant refers to Futures Exchange Participants, who can use the Block Trade Facility for stock index futures, stock index options, stock futures, options on stock futures, HIBOR futures, HIBOR strips, and Three-Year Exchange Fund Note futures , and Options Trading Exchange Participants, who can use the Block Trade Facility to trade stock options.
Chief Executive refers to the Chief Executive of the Futures Exchange for stock index futures, stock index options, stock futures, options on stock futures, HIBOR futures, HIBOR strips, and Three-Year Exchange Fund Note futures , and the Chief Executive of the Stock Exchange for stock options.