The Hong Kong Securities Analysts Association advocates for "one share per hand" as a long-term goal

The Hong Kong Society of Financial Analysts has officially submitted an opinion letter regarding the consultation document issued by the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) on "Optimizing the Framework for Minimum Trading Units in the Hong Kong Securities Market." The Society generally supports the direction of reform to simplify the minimum trading unit framework and has provided several constructive suggestions on specific proposals.

The Chairman of the Hong Kong Society of Financial Analysts, Deng Shengxing, stated that the current system, which is issuer-led and allows for over 40 different minimum trading units in the market, increases the complexity of trading, settlement, and delivery processes, as well as complicates hedging operations and product matching. Standardizing the minimum trading unit would help enhance the operational efficiency of the secondary market and align with the long-term interests of market development.

The Society recommends that the HKEX clearly set "ultimately unifying to one share per lot" as the long-term reform vision. This suggestion is based on two considerations: first, seizing the opportunity of paperless transactions. The Society supports the HKEX in coordinating the standardization of minimum trading units with the paperless securities market initiative. On this basis, it is suggested to further study the transition to the ultimate goal of "one share per lot" through a "one-time system switch" after the full implementation of paperless transactions. This would not only completely resolve the issue of diverse lot sizes but also avoid the costs arising from future adjustments.

Second, publish a long-term roadmap. The Society suggests that the HKEX clearly publish a long-term reform roadmap—transitioning to eight minimum trading units in the short term, monitoring market adaptation in the medium term, and aiming for "one share per lot" or "unifying to 100 shares" as the ultimate goal in the long term. This would help market participants plan for system upgrades and business adjustments in advance