Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEx) announced today (Wednesday) further details about its planned use of five-digit stock codes from 7 April 2008.  They are as follows: 

• Five-digit stock codes in the range 10000 to 29999 will primarily be assigned to new issues of derivative warrants (DW) to be listed on or after 7 April 2008.

• Codes in the range 60000 to 69999 will primarily be assigned to new callable bull/bear contracts (CBBC) to be listed on or after 3 November 2008.

• Stock codes in other five-digit ranges (30000-59999 and 70000-99999) are reserved for HKEx’s operating needs or future use as necessary.

To minimise disruptions to Exchange Participants and other market users, all stock codes within the four-digit range assigned to securities listed before 7 April 2008 and all AMS/3 information pages will for the time being continue to apply.  Beginning 7 April 2008 designated ranges for unit trusts/mutual funds/Exchange Traded Funds (ETF) and debt securities will be assigned within the four-digit range to allow for better classification.

The attached table summarises the detailed usage plan of all stock codes after introduction of five-digit stock code on 7 April 2008. 

HKEx requests the cooperation of all market users, which is crucial to the success of the initiative.  All Exchange Participants and market users are advised to prepare for and adhere to the usage policies, and they must refrain from making use of those stock codes in the reserved ranges for other purposes.  In addition, HKEx will review the usage policies from time to time and, where necessary, revise them accordingly.