The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission and the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Stock Exchange (388) announced on the 18th that they will enhance the timeline for the approval process of new listing applications to further enhance the attractiveness of Hong Kong as a leading international IPO market in the region, among which A-share companies with a market capitalization of more than HK$10 billion (Hong Kong dollars, the same below) can be fast-tracked for listing in Hong Kong.
The SFC and HKEX believe that the enhancement of the approval process timetable will provide greater clarity on the timing and frequency of comments issued by the two regulators, enhance the transparency of the overall IPO approval process, and facilitate the listing of prospective issuers in Hong Kong.
Drafting: Yang Liang
There are three types of situations
Tailor-made approval times
First, the SFC and the Exchange work closely together in the processing of new listing applications for applications that are fully compliant, and continue to coordinate regulatory actions in line with the timetable for the enhanced approval process. If the new listing application and related materials submitted by the applicant and its sponsor comply with all applicable requirements and guidelines under the Securities and Futures Ordinance (SFO) and the Listing Rules, the SFC and the Exchange will communicate closely to avoid repeated questions and assess and identify whether there are any significant regulatory concerns in the application after issuing up to two rounds of regulatory advice respectively.
In such a case, the SFC and the Exchange will each have no more than 40 business days to confirm whether there are any material regulatory concerns in the application. After confirming that there are no material regulatory concerns, the Exchange will work with the applicant and its sponsor to finalize the disclosure in the listing document, and then the application can be heard by the Listing Committee.
The applicant and its sponsor are expected to provide a satisfactory response to the regulator's comments within a total of about 60 business days. Subject to approval by the Listing Committee and other relevant authorities or regulators, the application process is expected to be completed within the six-month application validity period.
Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission. Data map
Eligible A-share companies
The assessment is completed within 30 days
Secondly, when a company already listed on the A-share market submits a new listing application in Hong Kong, it must meet the following conditions: (1) the expected market capitalisation is at least $10 billion; (2) The new listing application may be approved in accordance with the fast-track approval schedule below, provided that it confirms that the company has complied with the laws and regulations relating to the A-share listing in all material respects during the two full financial years preceding the submission of the new listing application.
If an eligible A-share listed company submits a fully compliant application, the SFC and the Exchange will issue only one round of regulatory advice respectively. In this case, the respective regulatory assessments of the two regulators will be completed within no more than 30 business days. However, if a new listing application is identified as having significant regulatory concerns after regulatory assessment, the fast-track approval timeline for eligible A-share companies will no longer apply.
China News Agency data map
If the listing application is significant
Regulatory concerns take longer
In addition, if the SFC or the Exchange considers that the listing application has significant regulatory concerns, such as the applicant does not comply with the Securities and Futures Ordinance (SFO) or the Listing Rules or the listing documents are of poor quality; or if the applicant has any new significant developments, or fails to provide a satisfactory response to the regulator's comments, the SFC and the Exchange will actively communicate with the applicant and its sponsor to help them understand the relevant regulatory concerns.
In particular, if necessary, after the issuance of the first comment letter, the SFC and/or the Exchange will communicate with key representatives of the applicant, its sponsor and other advisers to assist them in understanding the material regulatory concerns and outlining the regulator's requirements for subsequent responses.
If there are material deficiencies in any subsequent response to the regulatory opinion, the SFC and/or the Exchange will inform the applicant and its sponsor of the deficiencies and suspend the approval process until a satisfactory response is received.
If the applicant and its sponsor are unable to satisfactorily address the material regulatory concerns raised by the SFC and/or the Exchange after two rounds of regulatory advice (or one round of regulatory advice in accordance with the approval schedule for eligible A-share companies), the SFC and/or the Exchange will, as appropriate, make a direct request for information and/or issue a material letter in accordance with the Securities and Futures (Stock Market Listing) Rules, as appropriate.
Subsequently, the progress of the application will depend on whether the applicant and its sponsor have satisfactorily provided the required information and/or addressed the significant regulatory concerns set out in the material issue letter.
Source: Hong Kong Stock Exchange
In this case, the application process may take longer.
Optimize the details of IPO listing approval
(1) The application is in full compliance with the provisions
If the new listing application and relevant materials submitted by the applicant and its sponsor meet the requirements, the SFC and the Exchange will each confirm whether there are any material regulatory concerns in the relevant application within 40 business days.
After confirming that there are no material regulatory concerns, the Exchange will work with the applicant and its sponsor to finalize the disclosure in the listing document, and then the application can be heard by the Listing Committee. The applicant and its sponsor are expected to provide a satisfactory response to the regulator's comments within a total of about 60 business days.
Subject to approval by the Listing Committee and other relevant authorities or regulators, the application process is expected to be completed within the six-month application validity period.
(2) Fast-track approval timetable for eligible A-share companies
When submitting a new listing application in Hong Kong, an A-share listed company must meet the following criteria:
(1) Expected market capitalization of at least HK$10 billion;
(2) The new listing application may be approved in accordance with the fast-track approval schedule below, provided that it confirms that the company has complied with the laws and regulations relating to the A-share listing in all material respects during the two full financial years preceding the submission of the new listing application.
(3) Applications that take a long time
If the SFC and/or the Exchange consider that there are significant regulatory concerns in the listing application, such as:
the applicant does not comply with the Securities and Futures Ordinance, the Securities and Futures (Stock Market Listing) Rules and/or the Listing Rules;
and/or the listing documents are of poor quality;
or if the applicant has any new significant developments, or fails to provide a satisfactory response to the regulator's comments, the SFC and the Exchange will actively communicate with the applicant and its sponsor to help them understand the relevant regulatory concerns.
Paul Chan: The stock market sentiment has improved
About 100 companies are lining up to go public
Mr Chan Mo-po attended the 27th Beijing·Hong Kong Economic Co-operation Symposium and Invest in Hong Kong Promotion Conference and delivered a speech at the conference. Financial Secretary's website
Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said in a blog post on September 22 that the stock market sentiment has gradually improved, and the IPO market has gradually recovered. On September 17, Midea Group (0300. HK), which raised 31 billion yuan, making it the world's second largest IPO this year.
Chan Mo-po pointed out that considering this new stock, Hong Kong's IPO fundraising this year has exceeded that of last year, jumping to fourth place in the global ranking. At present, about 100 companies are in the queue to list in Hong Kong, and many of them are applying for US$1 billion fundraising. In addition to the IPO market, follow-up fundraising activities of listed companies have also been active, with more than US$20 billion raised this year.
Xu Zhengyu: Optimize the approval process
Strengthen Hong Kong's position as an IPO fundraising hub
Regarding the timetable for optimizing the approval process for new listing applications, the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Christopher Hui, said on the 18th that this move will provide greater certainty for issuers and their corporate finance service providers, and will further consolidate Hong Kong's position as a global IPO fundraising center.
The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Christopher Hui. China News Service
He pointed out that following the announcement of the China Securities Regulatory Commission earlier this year to support the listing of leading mainland industry enterprises in Hong Kong, this enhancement will add further impetus to the growth of Hong Kong's IPO market and facilitate more enterprises with long-term development and return potential to list in Hong Kong.
The SFC's Executive Director of Corporate Finance, Mr Lam Tai, said that the SFC has been committed to enhancing the transparency, accountability and efficiency of listing regulation, and the authorities fully support the enhancement of the timeline for the approval process, which is in line with the SFC's strategic priorities and will help enhance the global competitiveness and attractiveness of Hong Kong's capital markets.
HKEX's Head of Listing, Ms Ng Kit-chung, believes that the enhancement of the approval process timeline will help enhance the clarity and certainty of the approval process for new listing applications, help applicants and their advisers formulate listing plans, and further enhance Hong Kong's attractiveness as an international financial centre. We look forward to continuing to work closely with potential issuers and their advisers to process listing approvals in an efficient and timely manner with the support and co-operation of all parties.
Hong Kong stocks rose 725 points following A-shares
The stock market is not bad for money
Hong Kong stocks closed up 725 points or 3.6% at 20,804 points, with a market turnover of 259 billion yuan, a sharp increase of about 35% from the previous day. China News Service
The People's Bank of China launched the exchange facilitation operation of securities, funds and insurance companies, launched stock buybacks to increase holdings and reloans, and announced that the deposit reserve ratio may be lowered by 0.25 to 0.5 percentage points during the year, coupled with the mainland's "troika" economic data better than expected, A shares and Hong Kong stocks rose together on the 18th, Hong Kong stocks closed up 725 points or 3.6%, and the market turnover was 259 billion yuan, a sharp increase of about 35% from the previous day.
Hong Kong stocks ended a 4-day losing streak
The Hang Seng Index rose more than 200 points after opening 27 points higher on the 18th, and then rose and fell 20 points to a low of 20,058 points. On the same day, Pan Gongsheng, governor of the People's Bank of China, said that it is expected to cut the RRR by another 0.25 to 0.5 percentage points before the end of the year. The stock markets of the Mainland and Hong Kong responded to the report.
Hong Kong stocks rose as much as 873 points, reaching a high of 20,952 points and closing at 20,804 points, ending a four-day losing streak; HSCEI closed up 292 points, or 4.1%, at 7,471; The Tech Index rose 251 points, or 5.8%, to 4,600. However, Hong Kong stocks fell 447 points or 2.1% for the week, and fell for two consecutive weeks by 1,932 points or 8.5%; The Hang Seng Tech Index also fell for two consecutive weeks, falling 2.9% this week and 12% in two weeks.
Photo: China News Service
Kwok Sizhi, vice chairman of the Hong Kong Stock Analysts Association, said that Hong Kong stocks have seen a slight technical rebound after falling for 4 consecutive days, but the atmosphere is cautious, and the market is technically in the adjustment after a sharp rise. The Hang Seng Index has been repeatedly below the 10 antenna for 8 consecutive days, that is, about 21068 points, and now looks at the 20000 support point, if the market wants to get rid of the weak state, it needs to hold the 20 antenna of about 20479 points and the 10 antenna of 21068 points.
Brokerage stocks have done well
From now on, 21 financial institutions in the Mainland can lend to eligible listed companies and major shareholders for share buybacks and shareholding increases. In addition, the People's Bank of China entrusts specific primary dealers in the open market to carry out swap transactions with securities, funds and insurance companies that meet the conditions of the industry regulatory authorities, and the funds obtained can be used for investment and market making of stocks and stock ETFs.
These positive conditions are expected to increase market liquidity, and brokerage stocks have improved significantly. Among them, CICC (3908) rose 11.6%, China Securities Construction Investment (6066) rose 9.4%, China Galaxy (6881) rose 10.5%, Shenwan Hongyuan (6806) rose 14.5%, Huatai (6886) rose 10.6%, GF Securities (1776) rose 9.7%, China Merchants Securities (6099) rose 17.9%, and CITIC Securities (6030) rose 13.6%.
More than 5,000 A-shares rose
As for A-shares, the market opened low and went high yesterday under the positive boost, and it rose more quickly in the afternoon. The Shanghai Composite Index rose as high as 4% intraday, touching 3,313 points, the Shenzhen Component Index rose by more than 7% at most, and the ChiNext Index rose by nearly 12% at one point, but the three major indexes all fell slightly at the end of the market. As of the close, the Shanghai Composite Index was reported at 3261 points, up 92 points or 2.91%; The Shenzhen Component Index was reported at 10,357 points, up 465 points or 4.71%; The GEM index was reported at 2195 points, up 161 points or 7.95%. The total turnover of the two cities was 2,097.7 billion yuan.
The industry sectors of the two cities were red across the board, with more than 5,000 stocks rising. On the same day, a number of technology stocks returned, with the semiconductor sector as a whole soaring by more than 10% to lead the two markets, and electronic components, software development and other sectors also rose 6%. In the concept sector, high-bandwidth memory, SMIC concept, AI chips and other sectors have all started to skyrocket.
Stock market tailwinds followed
For the first time, stock repurchase and refinancing will be set up to encourage and guide financial institutions to provide loans to qualified listed companies and major shareholders to support them to repurchase and increase their holdings of listed companies. The initial amount of refinancing is 300 billion yuan, with an annual interest rate of 1.75% and a term of 1 year, which can be extended according to the situation.
From now on, the SFISF swap facility for securities, funds and insurance companies will be officially launched. At present, there are 20 securities and fund companies that have been approved to participate in the convenient operation of swaps, and the first batch of applications has exceeded 200 billion yuan.
Pan Gongsheng, governor of the People's Bank of China, said that depending on the liquidity situation in the market before the end of the year, the reserve requirement ratio will be further lowered by 0.25-0.5 percentage points. Commercial banks have announced a cut in deposit rates, and the loan prime rate (LPR) is expected to fall by 0.2-0.25 percentage points next Monday.
Li Yunze, director of the State Administration of Financial Supervision and Administration, said that financial asset investment companies are encouraged to play a greater role in supporting scientific and technological innovation. The scale of the new batch of 18 pilot cities to sign intentional funds has exceeded 250 billion yuan. Support qualified insurance institutions to set up new private securities investment funds, and increase efforts to enter the market and stabilize the market.
Wu Qing, chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, pointed out that closely focusing on the high-quality development of the capital market, strengthening the foundation and strict supervision, effectively giving full play to the function of the capital market, and better serving the overall situation of economic and social development.
Reporter: Su Shang Chen Wei
Video: Xie Yeting Zhao Shiyue
Editor: Jiang Lu
Reviewer: Zhuo Ling
Executive Producer: Jia Min