Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Restricted (HKEX) claims that it had a stable 2024, marked by new management, higher connectivity and engagement with worldwide markets, the launch of multi-year infrastructure enhancement applications, and recent buying and selling data that “underscore the market’s vibrancy and resilience.”
HKEX launched a quite a few new initiatives through the yr 2024, enhancing the Group’s choices and strengthening Hong Kong’s function as a world monetary centre.
These included plans to open an workplace in Riyadh, in addition to “including Abu Dhabi and Dubai to the record of acknowledged inventory exchanges, bolstering capital market connectivity between Asia and the Center East.”
The Group noticed the implementation of Extreme Climate Buying and selling preparations, reflecting HKEX’s “dedication to repeatedly elevating its market competitiveness.”
HKEX Chair Carlson Tong and Chief Govt Officer Bonnie Y Chan assumed their “roles in April and March, respectively.”
This coincided with a interval of improved macro situations that fueled market enthusiasm, as highlighted by the brand new “day by day buying and selling data throughout all of HKEX’s markets within the third and fourth quarters, with the money equities market hitting a file $620 billion in turnover on 8 October 2024.”
For 2024, Hong Kong ranked as one of many world’s prime 4 IPO venues, with exercise and “fundraising volumes rising sharply from a yr earlier.”
As at 20 December, HKEX IPOs raised “a complete of $83 billion from 66 new listings, together with the town’s largest IPO since 2021.”
HKEX’s new itemizing chapters supported evolving market “wants with two listings beneath the specialist know-how Chapter 18C, three GEM listings following its reforms, and the primary De-SPAC transaction.”
In October, HKEX introduced an enhanced timeframe “for the brand new itemizing utility course of, along with the Securities and Futures Fee (SFC).”
This initiative, which options an accelerated processing timeframe for eligible firms listed in Mainland China, will present “higher certainty and transparency for potential candidates and their advisers in formulating their itemizing plans.”
This announcement adopted one other Itemizing enhancement, with the implementation of a brand new treasury share regime in June that “gives issuers with higher flexibility in capital administration via share buy-backs and resales of treasury shares.”
HKEX additionally issued a session paper in December on “optimizing the IPO worth discovery course of and open market necessities.”
In November, HKEX marked the tenth yr of the Join program, which has expanded past its preliminary “concentrate on equities to incorporate bonds, Alternate Traded Funds (ETFs), and rate of interest swaps.”
This yr, extra enhancements have been applied, “together with the relief of ETF eligibility necessities beneath Inventory Join, in addition to new commerce sorts and companies for Swap Join.”
The upcoming inclusion of actual property funding trusts beneath Inventory Join — and the “introduction of RMB counters for Southbound buying and selling — will additional solidify Hong Kong’s function as a superconnector between Mainland China and world capital markets.”
HKEX’s derivatives market additionally had a really stable yr, with “common day by day volumes (ADV) of futures and choices reaching 1.57 million contracts as at 30 November, up 16 per cent from a yr earlier.”
Amongst new derivatives merchandise launched through the interval, HKEX launched weekly Hold Seng TECH Index Choices and weekly choices for 10 single shares, “enhancing its dynamic choices ecosystem and catering to the rising demand for shorter-dated choices.”
The Alternate Traded Merchandise (ETPs) market, together with ETFs and leveraged and inverse merchandise, has gone “from power to power, with common day by day turnover reaching $18.7 billion as on the finish of November, a rise of round 34 per cent from a yr earlier.”
In the course of the yr, HKEX welcomed Hong Kong’s “listings of Coated Name ETFs and Asia’s first Spot Digital Asset ETFs, additional enhancing product range and liquidity, contributing to the 36 new ETFs launched through the interval.”
HKEX has additionally unveiled plans to digitize and automate the in-kind creation and redemption course of for ETPs, “a transfer that may improve market effectivity and assist the continued development of secondary market exercise for ETPs.”
To boost the liquidity and vibrancy of Hong Kong’s markets, HKEX will proceed with a proposal to scale back minimal “spreads of eligible securities, following sturdy assist after a market session, with the primary part set for implementation in mid-2025.”
Past merchandise and microstructure enhancements, HKEX is creating capabilities that may “allow real-time commerce processing and round the clock derivatives buying and selling, making certain that HKEX’s market infrastructure can meet the wants of the following era of buyers.”
HKEX had additionally introduced plans to introduce new put up commerce companies and options on its built-in money market platform, the Orion Money Platform (OCP), in addition to plans to “develop the Orion Derivatives Platform (ODP), an in-house platform that may differentiate the Group’s derivatives choices.”
Along with this, HKEX will guarantee its methods are technically prepared for a T+1 inventory settlement cycle by the tip of 2025 and “facilitate dialogue in 2025 on an acceptable settlement cycle for Hong Kong’s markets, with plans to publish a white paper within the first half.”
The rollout of those platforms will assist bolster HKEX’s potential to assist world buyers and solidify Hong Kong’s standing “as Asia’s premier threat administration centre.”
HKEX Chief Govt Officer, Bonnie Y Chan, mentioned:
“2024 has been a yr of serious progress and supply as we place HKEX and our markets for a sustainable and vibrant future. In the course of the yr, we’ve got accomplished or introduced varied vital strategic initiatives that may deliver long-term constructive affect to our markets, together with reforms, new merchandise, strategic partnerships, and applications to advance our future-ready capabilities. The improved macro backdrop additionally supported renewed vibrancy and robustness of our markets, positioning our itemizing franchise very positively into 2025 and past. However we will’t cease right here. There may be a lot forward for us to pursue, and while I’m very pleased with the staff’s achievements this yr, I look ahead to working along with my unbelievable colleagues to delivering on our strategic imperatives, supporting our world buyers and elevating Hong Kong’s monetary panorama.”
