Exchange Updates and Streamlines Guidance Materials

The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (the Exchange), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX), today (Friday) updated three Guidance Letters and eight sets of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), and withdrew 15 Guidance Materials.

The Exchange publishes Guidance Materials from time to time to provide the market with guidance and clarity on the application of certain Listing Rules and practices.  The Exchange noted its Guidance Materials had increased significantly over the years, and a number of professional advisers commented that the Guidance Materials should be streamlined.  In response to the market feedback, the Exchange began a review of over 200 Guidance Materials in early 2018.

This is part of the Exchange’s continuous effort to streamline its guidance and related materials.  The first three sets of updates were published in July 2018, March 2019 and April 2019, respectively. The Exchange will continue to review and streamline its Guidance Materials as appropriate.

Details of the changes can be found via this link. They do not affect policy direction, which remains the same.

Below are some highlights of the changes:

  • Three updated Guidance Letters – HKEXGL89-16 (Guidance on issues related to “controlling shareholder” and related Listing Rules implications); HKEX-GL52-13 (Guidance for mineral companies); and HKEX-GL36-12 (Guidance on due diligence to be conducted by the sponsor and disclosure in the listing document relating to a distributorship business model).
     
  • Eight sets of updated FAQs – FAQ Series 1, 5, 8, 20, 24, 26, 31; and FAQ No.008-2017 to 022-2017 and 023-2018.
     
  • 15 withdrawn Guidance Materials – Eight Guidance Materials have been consolidated into the revised GL52-13 as mentioned above; four outdated Listing Decisions (LD106-1, LD46-3, LD21-2 and LD12-3) and three Interpretative Letters (RL4-05, RL6-05 and RL22-07) have been withdrawn.

The latest updated Guidance Materials can be found on the HKEX website.  The withdrawn Guidance Materials can be found in the Archive section on the HKEX website.

Source: HKEx