Computer hackers attacked the Hong Kong Stock Exchange's regulatory disclosure website yesterday, crashing the site and forcing the suspension of trading in shares of seven firms with a combined market value of HK$1.5 trillion - including HSBC Holdings.
'Our current assessment is that this is the result of a malicious attack by outside hacking, but we have no information as to where the hacking attacks came from or the motives behind them,' Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEx) chief executive Charles Li Xiaojia said yesterday.
Last night, HKEx said it had contacted police about the matter.
With market volatility running at its highest levels since the global financial crisis, three blue-chip firms - HSBC, HKEx (the stock exchange itself) and Cathay Pacific Airways were affected. Together they account for 18 per cent of the Hang Seng Index.
Trading was also halted in 419 warrants or other securities - worth an estimated HK$200 million - that are tied to the underlying shares of the affected companies.
The stocks were suspended because the seven firms attempted to make announcements of price-sensitive information during the lunchtime trading break, which investors may not have seen due to the hacking incident.
The exchange's trading platform was not targeted.