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What do you need to do?Ensure that you are in compliance with the amended Listing Rules.
Dieter Yih (葉禮德)
Partner
Mandy Yim (嚴月明)
Senior Associate
Gigi Wong (黃慧芝)
Solicitor
Fiona Tai (戴曉慧)
Trainee Solicitor
Dieter Yih (葉禮德)
Partner
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Hong Kong
Conrad Chan
(陳智聰)
Larry Kwok
(郭琳廣)
Dieter Yih
(葉禮德)
The implementation of one proposed change to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange Listing Rules ("Listing Rules") has been deferred for three months. This Client Alert supplements our previous alert on 5 December 2008 on the Amendments to Hong Kong Stock Exchange Listing Rules 2009.
The particular change relates to the proposed amendment to the Listing Rules which extends the black out period ("Black Out Period") during which a director of a Hong Kong listed issuer is prohibited from dealing in securities of the listed issuer. Under the original proposal which was to take effect from 1 January 2009, the Black Out Period would apply from the end of a listed issuer’s financial year end date until the publication of the financial results.
Following objections from reportedly close to 300 listed issuers and several law-makers, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange has maintained the change but deferred implementation of this particular aspect of the change until 1 April 2009.
The effect of the deferred implementation of the New Rule
Currently, listed issuers are required under the Listing Rules to publish their annual results announcement and half-year results announcement no later than 4 months and 3 months respectively after the end of the relevant financial periods. At present, the Black Out Period applies from a month prior to the publication of a listed issuer’s final or half-year results.
Under the original proposal which was to take effect from 1 January 2009, Black Out Periods would commence, and directors of listed issuers with their financial year ending on or after 31 December 2008 would not be able to deal in securities of those listed issuers, for the period from the listed issuer’s financial year end or half-year accounts date until the publication of their final or half-year results. For those with their financial year ending on 31 December 2008, it meant that the Black Out Period would start on 1 January 2009.
Implementation of this proposal has now been deferred until 1 April 2009, which means that the change will apply to listed issuers whose financial year end falls on or after 31 March 2009.