The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (the Exchange), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEx), today (Friday) published its “Consultation Conclusions on Proposals in the 2008 Combined Consultation Paper” (Consultation Conclusions).
Background
On 11 January 2008, the Exchange published a “Combined Consultation Paper on Proposed Changes to the Listing Rules” (CCP) containing proposals to address 18 substantive policy issues pertaining to corporate governance and initial listing criteria, as well as some amendments to improve the clarity, certainty and efficacy of the Rules Governing the Listing of Securities on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (Main Board Listing Rules) and the Rules Governing the Listing of Securities on the Growth Enterprise Market of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (GEM Listing Rules) (together, the Listing Rules or Rules). The consultation period ended on 7 April 2008.
The Consultation Conclusions present the results of the consultation concerning 15 of the 18 substantive policy issues.
The Exchange received a total of 105 submissions from a wide spectrum of respondents including listed issuers, market practitioners, and professional and industry associations. Overall market feedback indicated general support for the proposals concerning the 15 policy issues presented in the Consultation Conclusions, although certain aspects of the proposals prompted vigorous debate. The Exchange would like to thank all those who responded for sharing their views and suggestions with us.
The Consultation Conclusions and copies of submissions can be downloaded from, respectively, the “Market Consultation - Consultation Conclusions” and “Market Consultation – Responses to Consultation Paper” sections of the HKEx website.
Proposals adopted
In view of the broad market support, the Exchange intends to implement the proposals outlined in the CCP in respect of the 15 issues presented in the Consultation Conclusions, subject to certain modifications as set out in the Consultation Conclusions. The remaining three issues, namely Issue 5 (public float), Issue 11 (general mandates) and Issue 15 (self-constructed fixed assets) remain under assessment and separate conclusions will be published at a later date.
The Rule amendments proposed in the CCP for Issues 1, 2, 6, 8, 9, 10, 14 and 16 have been adopted, either with no changes or only minor amendments.
Set out below is a summary of the proposals under each of the 15 issues which have been adopted: