The following initiatives are subject to market support and regulatory approval so they may not be implemented. HKEx will announce further details of these initiatives as they progress.
|
Initiative |
Status on 16 July 2010 |
Status on 15 October 2010 |
||
|
1. |
Consultation Paper on Proposed Changes to Requirements for Qualified Property Acquisitions and Formation of Joint Ventures |
Not included in this issue.
|
The consultation paper was published on 10 September 2010 and
the deadline for replies is 12 November 2010. HKEx will analyse
respondents’ comments and publish its consultation conclusions in due
course. |
|
|
2. |
Consultation Paper on Proposed Changes to the Minimum Number of Shareholders for the Market Capitalisation/ Revenue Test |
Not included in this issue. |
The consultation paper was published on 10 September 2010 and
the deadline for replies is 12 November 2010. HKEx will analyse
respondents’ comments and publish its consultation conclusions in due
course. |
|
|
3. |
Possible changes to the requirements for overseas companies seeking secondary listings in Hong Kong |
Not included in this issue. |
HKEx is considering changes to its requirements for overseas
companies seeking secondary listings in Hong Kong to differentiate the
requirements for primary and secondary listings as they are currently
similar. |
|
|
4. |
Possible changes to the Code on Corporate Governance Practices in the Listing Rules |
Not included in this issue. |
HKEx expects to consult the market in the fourth quarter of
2010 on possible changes to the Code of Corporate Governance Practices
in the Listing Rules. Proposals may include requiring listed companies
to provide their directors with monthly updates on their business
activities. Other potential proposals include requiring listed companies
to have nomination and remuneration committees. |
|
|
5. |
Possible changes to the Listing Rules regarding debt securities |
Not included in this issue. |
HKEx expects to consult the market in the fourth quarter of
2010 on possible changes to streamline and simplify the Listing Rules
regarding debt securities offered to professional investors only. |
|
|
6. |
Consultation on Acceptance of Mainland Accounting and Auditing
Standards and Mainland Audit Firms for Mainland Incorporated Companies
Listed in Hong Kong |
The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and the Hong Kong
Institute of Certified Public Accountants are working to finalise
necessary arrangements for implementation of the proposals. |
The timetable is subject to resolution of issues by the SFC on the implementation of the proposals. |
|
|
7. |
Consultation on the placing of shares at initial public offering (IPO) and pre-IPO investments |
Not included in this issue. |
HKEx issued interim guidance to the market on 13 October 2010
on pre-IPO investments and has commenced soft consultations with the
market on the policy matter. HKEx expects to publish a consultation
paper on the proposals in the first quarter of 2011. |
|
|
8. |
Reporting on environmental and sustainability issues |
Not included in this issue. |
HKEx has commenced soft consultations with listed issuers and
professional associations on the matter. HKEx is considering whether,
and if so, how it can encourage and educate listed companies to adopt
meaningful reporting on environmental and sustainability issues. |
|
|
9. |
Consultation on Proposed Changes to Trading Hours |
Not included in this issue. |
The consultation paper was published on 17 September 2010 and
the consultation period ends on 29 October 2010. HKEx will analyse
respondents’ comments and publish its consultation conclusions in due
course. |
|
|
10. |
Study on After-hours Futures and Options Trading |
Not included in this issue. |
HKEx is doing a study on the trading of futures and options
after their current market close. After-hours futures and options
trading would help improve execution efficiency and trading
arrangements, which is one of the key initiatives in HKEx’s Strategic
Plan 2010-2012. |
|
|
11. |
Exploration of New Financial Products/ Services and Review of Existing Products/Services |
Volatility Index-related Products |
HKEx is one of the organisers of a volatility seminar scheduled for 16 November 2010. HKEx expects a volatility index for its securities market to be introduced before the end of 2010. |
|
|
|
|
Dividend Point Index Futures |
|
|
|
12. |
T+2 Finality for Stock Exchange Trades and Settlement Instructions |
The consultation conclusions will be published in the third quarter this year. |
The consultation conclusions were published on 13 August 2010.
HKEx aims to implement a T+2 finality arrangement for CCASS money
settlement by the third quarter of 2011. |
|
|
13. |
Consultation on a Scripless Securities Market |
The consultation conclusions will be published in the third quarter this year.
|
The consultation conclusions were published on 21 September
2010. The SFC will consult the public in early 2011 on a new subsidiary
legislation that will set out in more detail how the scripless
environment and those that play a key role in that environment will be
regulated. A scripless regime will be implemented in phases following
the necessary legislative changes and when the market infrastructure,
key operators and market participants are ready. The first phase of the
scripless regime is expected to be implemented in late 2013. |
|
|
14. |
Automation of Stamp Duty Reporting and Payment |
HKEx held three EP seminars on the subject in the last week of
April with a total of 627 attendees. All 465 trading EPs confirmed that
they would complete any system and operational changes they needed to
make before the end of July. HKEx plans to organise practice sessions
and a market rehearsal in August for EPs’ staff to familiarise
themselves with the new stamp duty arrangement. The automation is
scheduled to be implemented in September subject to market readiness. |
Automated stamp duty reporting and payment were introduced on 20 September 2010. |
|
|
15. |
Derivatives Market System Capacity and Technology Upgrade |
The capacity and technology upgrade of HKATS and DCASS is
making good progress. The plan is to roll out the platform and
infrastructure upgrade–Phase 1–by
the fourth quarter this year to increase the order capacity of HKATS to
21,000 order book changes/second (OBC/S) from the original of 8,100 OBC/S.
The design of the DCASS software will be enhanced in Phase 2 and rolled
out in mid-2011. |
The project is progressing as planned. The Phase 1 rollout was launched on 18 October 2010. |
|
| 16. | Securities Market System Capacity and Technology Upgrade (also known as AMS/3.8 and MDS/3.8) |
This project aims for 10-fold improvement over the existing securities trading system capacity to achieve an initial capacity of 30,000 orders per second (scalable to 150,000 orders per second if necessary), as well as an average order processing latency of nine milliseconds, to deliver significant advancement in the capacity and performance of the securities market infrastructure. An exposure paper will be published for Exchange Participants and information vendors at the end of the third quarter of this year for their planning and preparation. The project plan calls for implementation by the end of 2011. |
HKEx published its Information Paper On AMS/3.8 & MDS/3.8 System Upgrades on 8 October 2010. HKEx expects the upgrades to be completed by the end of 2011. | |
| Notes: |
AMS/3, the Third
Generation Automatic Order Matching and Execution System, is the trading
system for the securities market. CCASS/3, the Latest Generation Central
Clearing and Settlement System, and the Market Data System, or MDS, are
the other major market systems supporting the securities market. HKATS,
the Hong Kong Futures Automated Trading System, is the trading system
for the derivatives market. DCASS, the Derivatives Clearing and
Settlement System, and PRS, the Price Reporting System, are the other
major market systems for the derivatives market. |
|
Information is added after the date at the top of the column from
time to time. |
