Casino firm Macau Legend, CStone Pharmaceuticals join property firms on list of 32 companies failing to file annual results, HKEX data shows

Casino and hotels operator Macau Legend Development and drug company CStone Pharmaceuticals among firms that failed to file results by March 31 deadline

Exchange to keep period of any trading suspensions ‘as short as is reasonably possible’, HKEX spokeswoman says

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Exchange Square, home of the stock exchange in Hong Kong. Photo: AFP

Published: 6:05pm, 1 Apr 2022Updated: 6:08pm, 1 Apr 2022

More than 30 companies listed in Hong Kong have failed to submit even unaudited financial results by the deadline on Thursday, even after the stock exchange made special provisions for the coronavirus pandemic, exchange data shows.

The 32 companies include casino and hotels operator Macau Legend Development, drug company CStone Pharmaceuticals, media firm Bison Finance as well as a number of property management companies such as Roiserv Lifestyle Services.

The firms blamed the pandemic and sudden lockdowns in mainland Chinese cities such as Shanghai and Shenzhen for their failure to prepare full-year results, according to filings made with the exchange on Friday.

Companies that fail to submit their audited annual results by March 31 see their shares suspended from trading. They need to release audited results before their shares can resume trading, and face a delisting if their shares are suspended for 18 consecutive months.

A China Aoyuan Group construction site in Hong Kong. Mainland Chinese property developers formed the largest group of companies failing to submit their results on Thursday. Photo: Reuters

“It is sensible move. If a company cannot issue even an unaudited result, it lacks transparency and should be suspended from trading to protect the interests of investors,” said Robert Lee Wai-wang, the Hong Kong lawmaker for the financial services sector, and CEO of Grand Capital Holdings.

The Hong Kong stock exchange will continue to actively monitor developments, and work with these companies and other professionals to “keep the period of any trading suspensions to as short as is reasonably possible”, said a spokeswoman of bourse operator Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing. “The exchange is committed to maintaining a fair, orderly and continuous market,” she said.