Latest news with #HongKongExchangesandClearing
RTHK
6 days ago
- Business
- RTHK
Beijing opens up southbound Bond Connect scheme
Beijing opens up southbound Bond Connect scheme Jiang Huifen, a senior official at the People's Bank of China, says the country will support more onshore investors to access offshore bonds. Photo: RTHK Bonnie Chan, chief executive of the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, says China's bond market has huge room to grow. Photo: RTHK China's central bank said on Tuesday more mainland-based institutions would be allowed to invest offshore through the Bond Connect scheme, with authorities planning to open it up to non-banking investors. The scheme enables onshore investors to access Hong Kong's bond market. Currently, financial institutions not in the banking sector are excluded from the southbound leg of the trading link. Speaking at the Bond Connect Anniversary Summit 2025, Jiang Huifen, deputy director-general of the financial market department at the People's Bank of China, said the scheme was expanded to also cover brokerages, insurers, mutual funds and wealth managers. The move will provide wider access for onshore investors to international bonds traded in Hong Kong, including offshore yuan- and US dollar-denominated debt. According to Jiang, the quota under the Swap Connect scheme, which allows global investors to trade and clear onshore yuan interest-rate swaps, will also be increased. She added that China's bond market was growing following the emergence of the global tariff war, with domestic bonds held by overseas investors rising by nearly 200 billion yuan from about 4 trillion yuan at the start of the year. "We are actively studying other measures to promote the opening up of the bond market," she told participants in a video speech. "We will also enhance the facilitation level of cross-border investment and financing, promote the establishment of a one-stop account opening platform for overseas investors." Analysts believe the move by the central bank reflected Beijing's wider efforts to open up its financial system, improve two-way capital flows by loosening restrictions on financial flows, and enhance the global appeal of the yuan. Bonnie Chan, chief executive of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, said China's bond market, already the second largest in the world, had room for growth with international investors accounting for only 3 percent of the total. "We don't expect international investors to maintain such a small exposure indefinitely. There is a huge amount of room for growth," she told event participants. "With global investors increasingly seeking diversification, there is a huge opportunity for that growth to happen in the coming years. "And with unique connect channels such as Bond Connect, this is where global investors will get the best access to China's growth opportunities." Eddie Yue, chief executive of Hong Kong Monetary Authority, also hailed the expansion of the southbound Bond Connect scheme. "This will open up more channels to meet the growing demand from mainland investors, addressing their needs for diversified asset allocation," he said. "It will also bolster the development of Hong Kong's bond market by widening the investor base and enhancing market liquidity,hence increasing Hong Kong's attractiveness to both bond issuers and global investors."
RTHK
06-07-2025
- Business
- RTHK
ETPs boosting stock market: Paul Chan
ETPs boosting stock market: Paul Chan Financial Secretary Paul Chan says ETPs provide more choices for investors as they are linked to different kinds of assets. File photo: RTHK Financial Secretary Paul Chan says Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) have contributed to the improving performance of the stock market in the first half of the year. Writing on his blog on Sunday, the minister said there are more than 210 ETPs listed on the local bourse and their combined market value of nearly HK$510 billion is up 30 percent from 2020. Chan said ETPs provide more choices for investors as they are linked to different kinds of assets. Chan also said the city's IPO performance is currently the best in the world, with more than HK$107 billion raised so far this year. Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing has also received another 200 listing applications from Middle East and Southeast Asian enterprises. The finance chief added that the government will step up promotion of the local financial market, so worldwide investors understand Hong Kong's advantages and potential. Chan will head to Seoul this week to tell South Korean investors and financial institutions about the latest developments of the Hong Kong market.
The Star
04-07-2025
- Business
- The Star
Hong Kong's all-male boards are all but gone as firms embrace diversity
Hong Kong's bourse operator has declared victory in its quest to eliminate all-male boards from companies listed on the region's third-largest stock exchange, an improvement in corporate governance that analysts said would help attract international investors. Fewer than 10 of Hong Kong's around 2,600 listed companies had all-male boards as of the end of June, according to Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX). A spokesman said these exceptions were companies that had long been suspended from trading or were merely out of compliance temporarily because of a resignation. Eighty-five companies had all-male boards on January 1 when HKEX's ban on single-gender boards went into effect. In 2022, when the bourse operator unveiled the ban, more than 800 firms – or 40 per cent of listed companies – did not have a woman director. 'This requirement helped to create hundreds of new roles for female directors, reinforcing our commitment to fostering a more inclusive and diverse corporate environment and enhanced governance in our markets,' said Katherine Ng, HKEX's head of listing, in a statement to the Post. An example of a non-compliant company is property investment firm Paladin, which has six male board members. Its shares were suspended from trading in November because of insufficient business operations. To resume trading, the exchange would require a new business operation plan and at least one woman would need to join the board, the company said in February. More than 800 women had been added to listed companies' boards in the past four years, HKEX said. As of June, 21 per cent of directors were women, up from 20 per cent six months ago and 16 per cent four years ago when the single-gender ban was unveiled. The number of boards with multiple women increased to 43 per cent as of June from 35 per cent in 2022, and 21 per cent of listed companies now had boards where women accounted for a third of the directors. 'Ensuring more women on boards is a fundamental reform for listed companies anywhere, and it is confidence-building for investors to see HKEX taking definitive measures to move this along,' said Damien Green, a director of the Financial Services Development Council, a government agency that promotes the city as an international financial centre. Green cited the ban on all-male boards as a factor that helped the exchange's main board return to the top of the global league table for initial public offerings (IPOs) in the first half of the year. 'Strengthening corporate governance in the HKEX listing rules will not slow our market down but instead will help accelerate it, as international investors find yet another reason to have confidence in deploying their capital in Hong Kong,' he said. Funds from Hong Kong's IPOs soared eightfold to US$13.5 billion in the first six months, making the city's exchange the world's top IPO venue for the first time since 2019, according to data from the London Stock Exchange Group. Despite progress, Hong Kong-listed companies trail their global peers in gender diversity on their boards. Globally, 27 per cent of board seats among around 3,000 companies in the MSCI All Country World Index were occupied by women as of 2024, up 1.5 per cent from a year earlier, MSCI said in February. Edmund Wong, a lawmaker for the accountancy sector, said he supported HKEX in promoting gender diversity, but added that the ability of directors was also important and that women with relevant experience could be in short supply in certain sectors. 'Listed companies in the construction sector or engineering may not easily find a lot of women,' Wong said. -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
RTHK
28-05-2025
- Business
- RTHK
Over 150 firms hoping to list in Hong Kong: HKEX
Over 150 firms hoping to list in Hong Kong: HKEX HKEX chief executive officer Bonnie Chan says over 150 firms are looking to list in Hong Kong. Photo: RTHK CEO of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) Bonnie Chan said on Wednesday that more than 150 companies are lining up to list in the city, thanks to surging interest from mainland firms seeking to explore foreign markets. Chan said many companies eye offshore fundraising platforms to boost foreign currency reserves to support their overseas market plans. At the Greater China Private Equity Summit, Chan said some mainland firms listed in the US are also weighing up "homecoming" plans, amid de-listing threats by some US lawmakers. "There are still obviously some big names," Chan said. "I met with many of them in the past few weeks, and they share with me that their shareholders are very keen to make sure that they have a plan B. "That threat of de-listing may never realise, but it's good to have a plan B," she told participants of a forum. Unicorns and innovative companies are also interested in listing in the SAR, Chan added, noting that the city's stock exchange operator has been carrying out reforms to assist such firms. Separately, Chan noted that Hong Kong-listed firms, with their attractive valuations and solid fundamentals, can seize the opportunity to attract global capital, as quality funds and investors are reassessing their investment portfolio allocations following volatilities stemming from a recent retreat in US dollar-denominated assets. She cited examples such as the latest successful listing of Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL) that has attracted investors from the Middle East and Europe, noting that stable and certain policies are one of the key considerations when global funds re-allocate their investments.
Business Times
18-05-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Some China companies eyeing Singapore listings to expand markets amid trade war: sources
AT LEAST five companies from mainland China or Hong Kong are planning IPOs, dual listings, or share placements in Singapore in the next 12 to 18 months, four sources said, as Chinese firms look to expand in South-east Asia amid global trade tensions. The companies include a Chinese energy company, a Chinese healthcare group and a Shanghai-based biotech group, said the sources, who have direct knowledge of the matter, but declined to be named or to name the firms as the plans are not finalised. The listings would give a boost to Singapore Exchange (SGX), which, despite being a popular venue for yield plays such as real estate investment trusts, has been struggling to attract mega listings and bolster trading volumes. SGX hosted just four initial public offerings in 2024, according to its website. That compares with 71 new company listings recorded by its rival regional bourse Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing. Chinese companies are looking to tap the Singaporean bourse as they look to enter, or expand business in, South-east Asia amid a trade war with the United States, said Jason Saw, investment banking group head at CGS International Securities. US President Donald Trump imposed tariffs of 145 per cent on imports of Chinese goods, and China in turn raised tariffs on US goods to 125 per cent, before the two sides agreed a 90-day pause last weekend. But uncertainty remains, given the time limit and the Trump administration's unpredictability. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Enquiries about listings on SGX 'shot through the roof' after Trump ramped up his trade actions against China, Saw said. 'For the next years and decades, gateways from China to the world are going to be more important,' said Pol de Win, senior managing director and head of global sales and origination at SGX. 'Singapore is an important gateway, whether it's trade (or) business activity from China to the outside world, and a listing in Singapore is an important component of that.' De Win did not mention the listing plans of the Chinese and Hong Kong firms. 'Growing interest' CGS International, a unit of state-owned brokerage China Galaxy Securities, is working with at least two China-based companies to list on the SGX as early as this year, according to Saw. He declined to name the companies. Some of the mainland Chinese and Hong Kong companies could raise around US$100 million via primary listings in Singapore, said one source. SGX is usually not the first choice for Chinese companies eyeing an offshore market debut. Most of them prefer Hong Kong due to Beijing's support and a large pool of institutional and retail investors more familiar with Chinese brands. Beijing's efforts to boost ties with South-east Asia, amid escalating tension with Washington, have, however, encouraged some Chinese companies to increase their presence in the region, capital market advisers said. The listing plans in Singapore come after the city-state in February announced measures to strengthen its equities market, which included a 20 per cent tax rebate for primary listings, and vowed to unveil a next set of measures in the second half of 2025. The initiatives are set to boost interest in the local IPO market, said Ringo Choi, EY's Asia-Pacific IPO Leader, adding that Singapore's 'political stability and neutral stance' on geopolitical matters should appeal to companies. Not many, however, see Singapore closing its gap with Hong Kong in equity listings in the near future, due to factors including Singapore's relatively conservative investors and stricter listing requirements. 'You need to make it easier for companies, especially technology companies, to list,' said the managing director of a Singapore-based multinational software company, who declined to be named as he was not authorised to speak to the media. 'Most of the startups in the region are headquartered in Singapore, so this should be the place they list.' REUTERS
