--- title: "The industry supports the Hong Kong Stock Exchange's proposal to review the competitiveness of the listing mechanism, hoping for strict confidentiality obligations and leak handling mechanisms" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/283016113.md" description: "The Hong Kong Stock Exchange is consulting the market on the \"Review of the Competitiveness of the Listing Mechanism.\" The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Professionals Association supports lowering the financial qualification testing thresholds for companies with different voting rights and the confidentiality application mechanism, believing that this will enhance the competitiveness of Hong Kong's listing system and attract more new economy enterprises. Recommendations include lowering the market capitalization threshold from HKD 40 billion to HKD 20 billion, reducing the revenue testing threshold to HKD 600 million, and allowing applications to be submitted confidentially to protect the business secrets of companies. The association also suggested strict confidentiality obligations and mechanisms for handling leaks" datetime: "2026-04-16T14:04:35.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/283016113.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/283016113.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/283016113.md) --- # The industry supports the Hong Kong Stock Exchange's proposal to review the competitiveness of the listing mechanism, hoping for strict confidentiality obligations and leak handling mechanisms HKEX (388) is consulting the market on the "Review of Listing Mechanism Competitiveness." The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Professionals Association has submitted a formal response today, agreeing with the consultation proposals, including lowering the financial qualification testing thresholds for companies with different voting rights, different voting rights ratios, and allowing all issuers to submit application versions confidentially. The association believes that these proposals will help enhance the competitiveness of Hong Kong's listing system and attract more new economy and innovative companies to list in Hong Kong. ## The Association Proposes Lowering Financial Qualification Testing Thresholds for Different Voting Rights Among them, the association agrees to lower the financial qualification testing thresholds for different voting rights, including reducing the market capitalization threshold from HKD 40 billion to HKD 20 billion and the revenue testing threshold to HKD 6 billion in market capitalization and HKD 600 million in revenue. The association stated that lowering the thresholds would help attract more high-quality, but not necessarily meeting the current ultra-high market capitalization thresholds, innovative and new economy companies, while directly responding to competition with the mainland (Shanghai Stock Exchange/Shenzhen Stock Exchange) and the U.S. market. The association also agrees that if the applicant's market capitalization at the time of listing is at least HKD 40 billion, they will be allowed to adopt a 20-to-1 different voting rights ratio cap. The association believes that the U.S. market has no upper limit, and the UK has also removed the 20 times cap. For top founders, control is a core consideration in choosing their listing location. Relaxing the ratio under the premise of a HKD 40 billion high threshold is a pragmatic balance between attracting leading tech talent and protecting the rights of public shareholders. As for the proposal that all new applicants (including applicants related to the issuer's listing application) can submit application versions confidentially to the Exchange, the association agrees with this proposal and believes it is an important step towards aligning with international markets (such as the U.S.). Currently, full confidentiality may indeed reduce some public information available to the market before companies undergo listing hearings, and some investors may feel that transparency is diminished. However, confidential submissions can effectively protect the company's trade secrets, prevent sensitive data from being obtained by competitors, and reduce the impact on the company's reputation when applications are hindered due to market fluctuations. ## The Association Also Proposes Strict Confidentiality Obligations and Leak Handling Mechanisms Additionally, the association suggests that applicants, sponsors, lawyers, accountants, and printers must strictly adhere to confidentiality obligations; once any leaks regarding the listing are discovered, the Exchange should consider suspending the relevant listing application and delaying hearings. In the event of significant leaks, the Exchange should have the right to require the applicant to publicly disclose application materials to maintain market fairness ### Related Stocks - [00388.HK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/00388.HK.md) ## Related News & Research - [HKEX proposes halving settlement cycle to boost Hong Kong’s financial profile](https://longbridge.com/en/news/283162462.md) - [Can Hong Kong’s listing reform 2.0 win over innovative firms?](https://longbridge.com/en/news/282404036.md) - [Analyst calls this automaker a buy. The stock just topped a key level.](https://longbridge.com/en/news/282723183.md) - [dormakaba Holding AG (DOKA) Receives a Buy from Barclays](https://longbridge.com/en/news/282777240.md) - [Angang Steel Sets Board Meeting to Approve First-Quarter 2026 Results](https://longbridge.com/en/news/282746728.md)