Better for Hong Kong to overhaul its main board than to have a third board

Hong Kong

CHINESE online insurer ZhongAn soared in its trading debut on Thursday. The runaway success of this deal undermines the Hong Kong stock exchange's push for a third board with looser listing terms to lure more technology companies. That underscores how the city is already well-placed to win new listings - and suggests that tweaks to the existing board will do just fine.

The exchange proposes a new venue with two segments, to help it better compete with the likes of Nasdaq. That would allow companies with weighted voting rights; younger firms with limited financial track records; and secondary listings of mainland outfits with multiple classes of stock and existing offshore listings.