Hong Kong’s stock exchange is moving to speed up initial public offerings, overhauling a system where investors must wait at least a week for a newly priced stock to start trading.
The long time lag relative to the U.S. markets—where stocks typically begin changing hands a day after an IPO is priced—increases the risk of market sentiment souring due to external events.
The plans were put forward Tuesday by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd., the operator of the city’s stock market, following a consultation. They are due to take effect in the fourth quarter of 2022, and aim to help Hong Kong stay competitive as a listing venue.
The Asian financial hub has enjoyed a boom in stock issuance, thanks in part to a flurry of big Chinese IPOs and a string of secondary listings by tech companies from China whose stocks already trade in the U.S.
Including these secondary deals, Hong Kong hosted a record $28 billion of IPOs in the first half of this year, according to Refinitiv data, making it the third-largest listing venue after the Nasdaq Stock Market and the New York Stock Exchange.