Exchange Defers Corporate WVR Beneficiary Consultation
Regulatory
25 Jul 2018
The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (the Exchange), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX), has decided not to launch a consultation (Corporate WVR Consultation) on a proposal to allow corporate entities as weighted voting rights (WVR) beneficiaries at this time as initially planned. The Exchange will continue to engage with relevant stakeholders and work on the proposal.
In the “Consultation Conclusions Paper on a Listing Regime for Companies from Emerging and Innovative Sectors” (Rule Chapters Conclusions Paper), the Exchange stated that it had received feedback from a number of parties that the Exchange should permit corporate entities to benefit from WVR. The Exchange said in the Rule Chapters Conclusions Paper that it would plan to launch a separate consultation by 31 July 2018 to explore the option of allowing corporate entities to benefit from WVR.
The Exchange has made significant progress in developing a proposal to expand the existing Chapter 8A regime to permit corporate entities as WVR beneficiaries. However, given that the current WVR regime has only recently been put in place, the Exchange believes it should deliberate further the extended WVR regime and should continue to engage with relevant stakeholders in order to develop a broader consensus on the subject matter. Accordingly, the Exchange has decided not to launch a Corporate WVR Consultation at this time as initially planned.
The Exchange will update the market on the subject in due course.
Ends