Hong Kong SFC: Increase in cases of listed companies receiving "disclaimer of opinion" on financial reports solely due to going concern issues raises regulatory concern

The SFC, the AFRC and the SEHK today issued a joint statement to address regulatory concerns arising from an increasing number of cases in which listing applicants' financial statements received a "disclaimer of opinion" solely due to going concern issues. The SFC, the AFRC and the SEHK will continue to closely monitor the situation and will take appropriate regulatory, disciplinary or enforcement action if misconduct or non-compliance is identified. If the situation does not improve significantly, the SEHK will consider amending the Listing Rules as necessary, including requiring a trading halt for listed issuers whose financial statements contain a disclaimer of opinion issued solely due to going concern issues.