The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) today published conclusions to a consultation to expand the scope of short position reporting and on corresponding amendments to the Securities and Futures (Short Position Reporting) Rules (SPR Rules) (Note 1).
After considering market feedback, the SFC has concluded that short position reporting will be expanded to cover all securities that can be short sold under the rules of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (Note 2). The reporting threshold for stocks will remain unchanged (Note 3), while the threshold for collective investment schemes will be set at $30 million.
The proposed amendments to the SPR Rules will be submitted to the Legislative Council for negative vetting. To give the market a reasonable lead time for preparation, the SFC plans for the amended rules to come into effect on 15 March 2017, subject to the legislative process. The SFC will make further announcements regarding operational reporting arrangements for the expanded regime in due course.
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Notes:
- On 27 November 2015, the SFC released a consultation to expand the scope of short position reporting and on the corresponding amendments to the Securities and Futures (Short Position Reporting) Rules. The consultation ended on 31 December 2015.
- A list of Designated Securities which can be short sold is published on the website of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited.
- The current reporting threshold is the lower of 0.02% of the stock’s market capitalisation, or $30 million.