On 20 May 2021, the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (the “Exchange”) published the conclusions of its consultation (“Conclusions”) on its review of Listing Rules relating to disciplinary powers and sanctions.

To reflect the commitment to ensure the disciplinary regime is effective in delivering regulatory outcomes, the Exchange published a consultation paper (the “Consultation Paper”) on 7 August 2020 seeking market views on proposed changes to the Listing Rules relating to disciplinary powers and sanctions (for the summary, please refer to our Capital Markets Update Issue 2020-04). The consultation period ended on 9 October 2020.

The key focus of the Consultation Paper is to ensure that the regime remains fit for purpose, continues to promote market quality and aligns with stakeholder expectations and international best practices. The proposals are aimed at making available to the Exchange a spectrum of graduated disciplinary sanctions and, hence, place particular emphasis on instances of misconduct by individuals in relation to Listing Rules breaches. The Exchange also proposed to include additional circumstances where disciplinary sanctions can be imposed on parties subject to the Exchange’s disciplinary regime.

The revised Listing Rules will be implemented with effect from 3 July 2021.