Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing today announced new measures on accessing listed company information that must be filed with HKEx and the trading arrangements in the unlikely event that its systems for the dissemination of such information do not function properly.
HKEx has discontinued its daily newspaper advertisements about listed companies expected to announce their results because the notices were a short-term measure and the information is available elsewhere.
Under the Listing Rules, listed companies intending to hold board meetings to approve their results or declare, recommend or pay any dividend must publish an announcement at least seven clear business days before the board meeting date.
Investors can find these board meeting notification announcements on the
HKExnews website under the headline “Announcements & Notices” and the company’s website.
A list of companies’ board meeting notifications is available on the HKEx
corporate website, the HKExnews website, HKEx’s
Bulletin Board and an
additional bulletin board that will be available from September 5. The additional bulletin board will be supported by technology infrastructure that is separate from the two different infrastructures that support the Bulletin Board and the HKExnews website.
Information about listed companies’ announcements and notices is available on the HKExnews website and the bulletin boards. The full text of each announcement and notice is available on the HKExnews website and the company’s website.
If services of the HKExnews website and the bulletin boards are disrupted but there is timely publication of the company’s results announcement on the company’s website following the board meeting, trading in the company’s securities will continue because investors will have had advance notice of the results announcement through the company’s board meeting notification.
A suspension will be required if companies make unscheduled announcements of price sensitive information when services of the HKExnews website, the Bulletin Board and the additional bulletin board are disrupted because there would have been no advance notice of the announcements.
Over the long term, HKEx will explore whether any changes to its current suspension policy are necessary.
It will also explore the feasibility of a trading halt policy including, among others, the duration of trading suspension, which will allow trading in shares of an issuer that released price sensitive information during trading hours to resume after a short trading halt.
The HKEx will consult the Listing Committee, the Securities & Futures Commission and the market on such changes.
