Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing is the holding company for the city’s stock exchange, futures exchange and clearing company. Its market capitalisation made it the world’s biggest listed bourse as of the end of 2012. In December 2012, the HKEX clinched the US$2.2 billion takeover of the London Metal Exchange, the world's biggest marketplace for industrial metals.
A proposal by bourse operator Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing that listed companies suspend share trading immediately if auditors refuse to give their financial statements a clean bill of health could lead to an increase in tensions between firms and auditors, and even punish retail investors, a
