Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEx) and Hang Seng Indexes Company Limited (Hang Seng Indexes) today (Tuesday) announced an agreement on HKEx’s use of the Hang Seng Industry Classification System (HSICS) for the classification of all Hong Kong-listed companies. 

Launched in October 2001, the HSICS was further reviewed and updated in August 2006 and currently comprises 11 industries and 28 sectors.  All companies listed in Hong Kong are assigned to one of the sectors based on where they derive the majority of their revenue.  Each sector is assigned to one of the industries.  The classification of all listed companies is managed by Hang Seng Indexes.  An overview of the HSICS is attached in Appendix I.

Individual company classifications under the HSICS will be accessible through the Company/Securities Profile section of the Investment Service Centre on the HKEx website www.hkex.com.hk/invest starting from 31 December 2007.  They will also be adopted in the statistics and certain data products of HKEx.  The HSICS classifications will replace the current classifications assigned under an internal system maintained by HKEx.

“Over the years, the businesses of the companies listed on our Stock Exchange have become much more diverse. We are adopting the HSICS so we can better serve the needs of investors and other market participants for a classification system that reflects the business nature of companies more precisely than the current system,” Gerald Greiner, Chief Operating Officer of HKEx, said. “The HSICS caters to the unique characteristics of the Hong Kong stock market while providing international compatibility.  It can help investors to better understand Hong Kong’s market structure and the distribution of our market capitalisation in terms of business activity.”

Vincent Kwan, Managing Director of Hang Seng Indexes, said, “The HSICS offers a standardised basis for company analysis and comparison.  We are delighted that HKEx will adopt the HSICS.  Together with the 11 Hang Seng Composite Industry Indexes based on the HSICS which have been compiled since 2001, HKEx’s use of the HSICS will further facilitate investor understanding of market performance with regard to each industry.”

A summary of the industry distribution of the Hong Kong stock market is provided in Appendix II.

Note to editors:

Information on Hang Seng Indexes
The Hang Seng Family of Indexes is managed and compiled by Hang Seng Indexes Company Limited, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hang Seng Bank. The index family includes the Hang Seng Index, Hang Seng China AH Index Series, Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, Hang Seng China H-Financials Index, Hang Seng Composite Index Series, Hang Seng Freefloat Index Series and Hang Seng Total Return Index Series. For further information, please visit www.hsi.com.hk.

Information on HKEx
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited is the public holding company of the stock and derivatives exchanges in Hong Kong and their related clearing houses. HKEx provides a comprehensive range of products and services for issuers and investors. For more information, please visit the company’s website at www.hkex.com.hk.