Guide on pre-vetting requirements and selection of headline categories for announcements (updated June 2007)

Status of the Guide

This Guide has been produced to assist listed issuers to meet certain of their continuing obligations under the Listing Rules. It aims to identify:

1. whether particular announcements require pre-vetting under the Listing Rules and provides cross-references to the relevant listing rule requirements; and
2. the generally applicable headline categories for particular announcements.

Pre-vetting requirements

Users of this Guide should note that the narrative descriptions of the matter and/or transaction in question are not exhaustive and that the descriptions have been extracted from the Listing Rules and from examples of other announcements which are common in theHong Kong market. Some of these other announcement descriptions are themselves derived from an obligation in the Listing Rules to publish a circular on the subject matter.   The subject matter in relation to an announcement may fall under more than one of the descriptions provided.

The Listing Rules specifically require listed issuers to submit drafts of their documents for certain matters and/or transactions to the Exchange for review and comment before they are issued.   In addition to these specified circumstances the Listing Division may request to review an announcement prior to publication that is not strictly subject to pre-vetting requirements under the Listing Rules and may indicate that such announcement must not be issued until the Exchange has confirmed to the issuer that it has no further comments thereon.  Typically, this may be the case where:

1. The announcement is made in relation to enquiries and concerns about compliance with applicable laws and regulations or the Listing Rules;
2. the announcement involves unusual or novel issues; or
3. the listed issuer is seeking guidance from the Exchange on, or making a request for modification or dispensation with, certain Listing Rules.

In such cases, the Listing Division will communicate to the listed issuer its direction to review the announcement prior to publication and the reasons for its decision.

Selection of headline categories

Please note that the headlines set out in this Guide for announcements issued pursuant to specific Listing Rules are those usually applicable to those Listing Rules. Sometimes however it may be necessary to select additional headlines. When submitting an announcement through e-Submission System for publication, the listed issuer should make best efforts to choose headlines that it believes are applicable to the content of the announcement, and it must select all such headlines as may be appropriate from the list of headlines set out in Appendix 24 of the Main Board Listing Rules / Appendix 17 of the GEM Listing Rules.  If the announcement is issued pursuant to different rule requirements, all relevant headlines that are related to such rule requirements must be selected.   In particular, the listed issuer should consider whether the subject matter / transaction of the announcement is price sensitive in nature under Main Board Listing Rule 13.09 or GEM Listing Rule 17.10, and if so, the headline  "Price Sensitive Information" must be selected (in addition to those headlines  applicable to the announcement pursuant to the other specific rule requirements).  Please also refer to notes 5 to 8 in the Guide when choosing appropriate headlines for announcements.

Users are encouraged to refer to the Listing Rules themselves and, where necessary, seek qualified professional advice.  In the event of any discrepancy between any of the contents of this Guide and the Listing Rules, as amended and interpreted from time to time, the provisions of the Listing Rules prevail. 

The Listing Division is available for providing confidential guidance on listing matters.   Listed issuers and practitioners are encouraged to contact the Listing Division at the earliest opportunity with any queries they may have on the Listing Rules.