Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing is to revamp its back-up power supply in a bid to avoid further suspensions in futures trading.
The exchange will also soon carry out an extensive review of its stock trading system, AMS/3, and futures trading system, HKATS, according to chief executive Kwong Ki-chi.
'The review will help improve the overall robustness of the trading system in Hong Kong, which will enhance the competitiveness of the local markets,' Mr Kwong said.
He said the HKATS review would begin next month and be completed in February next year, but did not give details of the AMS/3 review.
Thousands of investors were unable to trade in the derivatives markets for an hour on May 28 when the futures market was forced to close after a roadworks accident caused a blackout. The exchange's back-up power supply system failed to work properly, causing trade to be suspended.
The Government and brokers complained the breakdown undermined the reputation of the local market, while the exchange appointed independent consultant Ove Arup & Partners to conduct a review of the incident.
The consultant's report, released yesterday, found the failure of the back-up was due to a malfunction in the inverters - a device which changes the DC power from batteries to the AC power supplied to the trading system.
