Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited

The history of securities trading in Hong Kong dates back to the mid-19th century, but it wasn't until 1891 that the first formal market, known as the Association of Stock Brokers in Hong Kong, was established as the British colony's first exchange. The Association was renamed the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 1914.

Consolidation of competing exchanges over time, the end of 156 years of British colonial rule in 1997 and market reforms led up to the creation of an integrated holding company, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd., or HKEx, in 2000. HKEx is the holding company for the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (SEHK), the Hong Kong Futures Exchange Limited (HKFE), and the Hong Kong Securities Clearing Company Limited (HKSCC).

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEx) is an operator and regulator of a securities market, derivatives market and clearing houses for those markets in Hong Kong. HKEx regulates listed issuers and dispenses listing, trading and clearing rules. The exchange operator also provides services to customers of the exchanges and clearing houses, including trading, clearing and settlement, depository and nominee services, and information services.

Stock Exchange of Hong Kong

Domestic and international companies may choose to list their shares on the Main Board or the Growth Enterprise Market (GEM) of the SEHK. The Main Board is a market for companies across a range of industries that meet specified financial or profit standards. GEM is a market for growth companies from all industries and sizes. Companies seeking to list their shares on GEM must meet similar, albeit less strict, admission requirements as Main Board-listed entities.

Shares listed on the exchange are quoted and traded on AMS/3, the third generation of electronic stock trading system implemented by HKEx in 2000. The trading system supports automatic continuous matching on a price and time priority basis, single price auction for price discovery and trade execution at an equilibrium price and semi-automatic matching for odd lots and special lots.

Trades are cleared through the Central Clearing and Settlement System (CCASS) of the HKSCC.

Click here for more details on the Shanghai – Hong Kong Stock Connect Program.

Hong Kong Futures Exchange

The Hong Kong Futures Exchange provides diversified markets for trading futures and options contracts. Products traded on HKFE include equity index, stock and interest rate futures and options. HKFE launched its flagship product, the Hang Seng Index (HIS) futures, in 1986. HIS futures are still the most popular futures product traded on the exchange to date.

Trading on HKFE has been fully electronic since 2000. The Hong Kong Futures Automatic Trading System (HKATS) is the trading platform for all HKFE products and stock options. All orders in HKATS are executed electronically on a strict price/time priority basis.

The Derivatives Clearing and Settlement System (DCASS) is the fully electronic and automated clearing and settlement system for the derivatives products of HKEx. The integrated clearing system covers futures and stock options products.