THE Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) is open to proposals intended to radically alter the method used for offering shares in certain types of new listings.
Ermanno Pascutto, SFC deputy chairman and head of the capital markets division, said he was willing to consider new proposals in submissions to the watchdog.
''The regulators in the market, and I am sure this would include the stock exchange, are quite open-minded about exploring the possibility for other methods for offering securities to be considered here,'' he said.
His remarks were made in the context of controversy following the close of the offer of new shares in Shanghai Petrochemical.
The offer of 1.68 billion shares - 840 million of which were offered in Hongkong - was 1.77 times subscribed.
There were 445.6 million shares or 0.53 of the subscription taken up by Merrill Lynch and Peregrine investments.
Peregrine chairman Philip Tose has attacked the local merchant banking industry for its apparent apathy in the face of a new challenge involving participation in Hongkong's first global issue and local issue of shares in a mainland enterprise.
