Exchange closes door on second Nasdaq batch amid weak demand

It is unlikely any more Nasdaq-listed stocks will be introduced for joint trading on Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEx) in the near future, according to HKEx chief executive Kwong Ki-chi.

Mr Kwong said the trading volume of the Nasdaq stocks already traded on the exchange was so thin that it would abandon plans to bring in a second batch of Nasdaq stocks.

Brokers support the exchange's decision as the prevailing weak market sentiment worldwide meant it was not a good time to bring in more high-technology Nasdaq stocks to list in Hong Kong.

Seven Nasdaq-listed stocks - technology giant Microsoft, Intel, Dell Computer, Cisco Systems, Applied Materials, biochemical company Amgen and coffee-shop chain Starbucks - have been traded on the local stock market since May 31.

HKEx and Nasdaq planned to trade more Nasdaq companies in the SAR if the seven Nasdaq stocks proved popular with local investors within six months of the scheme beginning.

But from May 31 to December 15, the combined turnover of the seven first-stage Nasdaq stocks in Hong Kong was a mere HK$254.64 million - well below par against main-board turnover of HK$2.8 trillion during the same period.

Mr Kwong denied the quiet trading of Nasdaq stocks was a sign of the failure of the co-operative arrangement between the HKEx and Nasdaq.