HSI Services, which compiles the Hang Seng Index, is working on a definition of the term 'red chip' prior to creating a red-chip index.
HSI Services chairman Anthony Wong Kin-kwan said the company was consulting the market about the introduction of a red-chip index.
Red chips are regarded by the market as Hong Kong incorporated companies with a mainland parent.
'The market supports the creation of the index but it is very difficult to decide which stocks should be classified as red chips,' he said.
'It is very likely we will use the percentage of the Chinese ownership of a company to decide whether it is a red chip. However, we have not decided the exact percentage.' Meanwhile, stock exchange listing division executive director Lawrence Fok Kwong-man visited Beijing last week to examine regulatory issues surrounding red chips.
He said there was no need for Hong Kong to set up new guidelines for their listing.
