Hong Kong exchange to roll out new dual counter model in June

THE Hong Kong Stock Exchange said on Friday (May 19) it would launch the new dual counter trading model on June 19, wherein investors would be able to begin interchanging securities listed in both Hong Kong dollar and renminbi counters.

The bourse operator had late last year disclosed plans to amend the existing model of trading in place to simplify the trading process for a growing number of US-listed Chinese firms conducting secondary or primary listings in Hong Kong.

The dual counter market making programme in its securities market, which is expected to spur the liquidity of renminbi counters and cut down on price differences, will also be rolled out on June 19, the exchange operator said in a filing.

Highlighting the benefits of these latest measures, HKEX CEO Nicolas Aguzin said, “It will give issuers and investors more choices, it will enrich Hong Kong’s RMB products ecosystem... and it will support the ongoing internationalisation of RMB.”

HKEX added that it would reveal the initial list of dual counter securities and dual counter market makers in due course.

A number of major companies including Ping An Insurance Group Co of China, AIA Group and Tencent have already submitted their applications for a dual currency counter.

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Separately, a series of testing rounds would be conducted between May and June to jumpstart the preparation for the launch and to support market participants trading under the model, HKEX said. REUTERS