On 8 October 2019, HKEX quietly dropped its US$36 billion-plus bid for the London Stock Exchange, citing its disappointment that, “it had been unable to engage” with the management of the latter “in realising its vision to create a world-leading market infrastructure group”. read
Perhaps as a teaser for its New Year resolutions, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange recently published the findings of its latest review of listed issuers’ corporate governance practices, in addition to updated guidance material on environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting. read
At the end of last month, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange published a consultation paper seeking feedback on a proposed suspension requirement for listed companies with a “disclaimer or adverse audit opinion on their financial statements”. read
To many, the 85% collapse in the share price of China Huishan Dairy Holdings Co on March 24 came as a complete surprise. With now all of the company’s non-executive directors having tendered their resignations (in the process also effectively wiping out Huishan’s audit committee), the company’s key treasury executive still missing, and the controlling shareholder seemingly heading for the exit amid talk of margin calls, the milk producer’s short stint as a public company increasingly looks like a horror story. read
The filing of form S-1, the draft registration statement for the proposed $3bn New York IPO of Snap, the $25bn parent company of messaging app Snapchat, was full of surprises — not all of them good for investors. If anything, it also showed that Hong Kong will, most likely, never be able to compete with the US exchanges when it comes to listing unicorns. read
Just a few weeks apart, announcements were recently made by the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (HKEX) and Singapore’s SGX respectively about changes to front line regulatory functions they perform. The approaches under these proposals couldn’t have been more different. read
The last few months have been a bit of a roller coaster for Chinese equities, both on the mainland and in Hong Kong. The sharp volatility in the indices has frightened investors away and put a damper on primary issuance. But the bubble finally bursting is symptomatic that further changes are badly needed. These also need to be more than just skin deep. read
At long last, the operator of Hong Kong’s stock exchange has published conclusions to its concept paper on weighted voting rights (WVRs). Almost as soon as it did, Hong Kong’s other regulator expressed its opposition to the idea. But WVRs were always a worrying development. More urgent reforms are needed for the exchange to compare favourably with New York or London. read
What has happened to Malaysia’s primary equity markets? Once the darling of ECM departments, featuring highly successful multi-billion dollar offerings by the likes of Petronas Chemicals, Felda Global Ventures or IHH Healthcare, the Southeast Asia nation now languishes at the bottom of the regional league tables. read
Amid more deals coming to market in recent weeks, there has been much talk about a potential re-launch in Hong Kong of WH Group’s IPO, a deal that was famously pulled last April after a mammoth syndicate of 29 bookrunners failed to secure interest from investors. read
