HKEX's Chen Yiting: Currently dealing with over a hundred companies' listing applications, remains cautiously optimistic about the outlook for this year.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (00388), Ms. Chen Yi-ting, stated that the Hong Kong Stock Exchange is currently handling the listing of over one hundred companies, with companies already listed on the A-share market coming to Hong Kong for an H-share listing. Out of these, twenty to thirty companies have already announced or submitted applications. She believes that the current listing rules can accommodate these companies and she hopes to attract more overseas companies to list in Hong Kong by optimizing the dual primary listing and secondary listing thresholds. She also pointed out that while she remains cautiously optimistic about the outlook for this year, the macro environment remains uncertain. Regarding the recent situation of new stocks being oversubscribed by thousands of times, Ms. Chen Yi-ting mentioned that with the introduction of the new stock settlement platform FINI, the related financing costs have decreased, and the behavior of the participants has changed, as expected. She emphasized that the level of funds that investors needing to freeze for the current thousands of times oversubscription is different from what it used to be. Paul Chan Mo-po mentioned that the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission will propose improvements to the trading unit system (commonly known as "lots") within the year. Ms. Chen Yi-ting stated that different suggestions are being discussed and will be discussed with industry professionals and investors in order to stimulate liquidity. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange will release consultation papers on this matter in the future, and work is also being done on single stock multiple counter trading. Once the preparations are completed, the relevant information will be shared with the market. She also pointed out that she remains cautiously optimistic about the outlook for this year, but the macro environment remains uncertain. Since the beginning of the year, investors' interest in the Hong Kong market and new stocks has not diminished. Geopolitical and economic factors remain unfavorable and may lead to more volatility in global markets. The income from managing internal investment portfolios will continue to be affected by interest rate cuts or further cuts, and the de-risking of external portfolios by the end of 2024 should reduce the future earnings volatility of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The launch of the new LME trading platform has increased amortization costs, and new tax rules will also impact the Hong Kong Stock Exchange's earnings for this year. Ms. Chen Yi-ting stated that the Hong Kong Stock Exchange will continue to firmly commit to further enhancing the vitality, resilience, and attractiveness of the Hong Kong market. In the coming months, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange will actively implement the first phase of lowering the minimum tick size, release a white paper on optimizing the Hong Kong market settlement cycle, and publish a consultation summary on optimizing the pricing mechanism for initial public offerings. These are important measures to help the Hong Kong Stock Exchange's business stay current and progressive.