China's e-commerce giant Alibaba (9988) will be added to five more stock indexes in Hong Kong by the end of the month.
Hang Seng Indexes Company said the blue chip will be a new constitute of the Hang Seng Stock Connect Hong Kong Index, Hang Seng China (Hong Kong-listed) 25 Index, Hang Seng SCHK Artificial Intelligence Theme Index, Hang Seng SCHK China Technology Index and the Hang Seng SCHK New Economy Index after the market closes on October 25.
The additions take effect on October 28, and come after Alibaba joined the Stock Connect on September 10.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (0388) is working to shorten the settlement cycle by one trading day.
It targets to have infrastructure ready by the end of next year to switch to the T+1 settlement rule, or settling and clearing to be completed on the first trading day after the transaction date, from the current T+2.
The change aims to fit the bourse into the global trend to shorter settlement cycles for cash equities, safeguarding Hong Kong's "hard-won" status as a leading international financial hub, HKEX chief executive Bonnie Chan Yi-ting said.
HKEX will publish a white paper in the first half of 2025 for discussions on what settlement cycle is needed, Chan added.
In other news, China's cloud service provider Qiniu, backed by Alibaba, priced its shares at the bottom end of the range at HK$2.75 to raise HK$439 million in an initial public offering.
And China's Instagram-like platform Xiaohongshu, which saw its net profit surge fourfold to US$200 million (HK$1.56 billion) in the first quarter, is still hoping to list in Hong Kong, the Financial Times reported.
Staff reporter
Pix. AFP
