Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing will launch a depositary receipt scheme to attract more non-Chinese listings from overseas as it combats competition from mainland bourses and a global market downturn.
The scheme will start in the third quarter of next year, the operator of the stock exchange said yesterday after announcing a record-high interim profit of HK$2.33 billion, up 110 per cent from a year earlier.
Exchange chief executive Paul Chow Man-yiu said the board would also lobby the government to cut the 0.1 per cent stamp duty on transactions to attract more investors.
Analysts said the exchange faced serious challenges ahead as mainland companies preferred to sell shares on the booming Shanghai and Shenzhen markets.
The bourse could also be hit by slowing investment income due to global market uncertainties resulting from the US subprime mortgage problem. The Hang Seng Index hit a two-month low after falling 2.87 per cent yesterday. Shares of the exchange dropped 4.31 per cent to HK$120.
The exchange benefited from a 73 per cent increase in trading fee income to HK$1.07 billion, with an 82 per cent year-on-year gain in average daily turnover to HK$59.2 billion.
Investment income rose 109 per cent to HK$453 million. There also was a one-off gain of HK$206 million from the disposal of its entire 30 per cent stake in Computershare Hong Kong.
