[HONG KONG] Hong Kong is drafting rules for an over-the-counter (OTC) market for delisted shares to give investors at risk of owning a growing pile of nearly worthless securities a chance of recouping some losses.
The city’s stock exchange and regulator are working on a blueprint for what is commonly referred to as a pink sheet market after an initial consultation with market participants, according to sources familiar of the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing a private matter.
While still at an early stage, Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing (HKEX) and the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) are looking at designing the OTC market as an “end-of-life care” platform that would provide an exit for investors looking to sell and not allow any new funds to be raised – unlike a model in the US, the sources said.
Firms valued at more than HK$19 billion (S$3.3 billion) combined are in danger of being delisted this year because of prolonged trading suspensions for failures to publish financial reports or maintaining public floats, among other violations. Those at risk of being booted off the exchange includes at least eight Chinese property developers, such as China Evergrande Group, which have been suspended over the past few years as the nation’s real estate sector started to crack.
The suggestion to set up an OTC market for delisted shares was first mentioned in a broader HKEX market consultation released in December.
A spokesperson for the exchange said the bourse is considering the merits of an OTC market and is “carefully reviewing market feedback” after the end of the consultation period in March. A spokesperson for the SFC said that the process is at a “very early stage”.
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The preliminary blueprint would allow retail investors to participate and involve market makers to match orders due to thin liquidity, the sources said. It would not allow new listings, the trading of delisted shares from other major exchanges or a path back to the main bourse, according to the sources.
Regulators and exchange officials are mulling to make it a “buyer beware” model and to restrict any touting of stocks by holding brokers responsible if they actively advise investors. As the platform matures, it could seek to expand to more functions for unlisted securities, two of the sources said.
The OTC market is likely to be run by HKEX, the exchange operator, given its statutory monopoly, but it’s not expected to make a profit, the sources said.
About 224 companies have been delisted since 2018 after the exchange changed rules to speed up the process to drive out marginal firms and shares that have been suspended for 18 months or longer. BLOOMBERG
