HKEx will launch the new regime for electronic dissemination of regulatory information on June 25, abolishing the Main Board requirement for paid announcements.

HKEx Head of Listing Richard Williams said the electronic disclosure project will bring the issuer information dissemination regime in Hong Kong in line with regimes in other major international financial centres.

It will also provide the foundation for further developments, such as real-time electronic disclosure during trading hours and the elimination of unnecessary suspensions which currently arise pending publication of announcements in the newspapers.

"Overall it will strengthen the competitiveness of the Hong Kong securities market and increase its attractiveness to investors," Mr Williams said.

Phased approach

Under Phase 1 of the Electronic Disclosure Project, a paid announcement in newspapers will be optional so long as the Main Board listed issuer publishes the full announcement on its own website, in addition to the HKEx website. For a six-month transitional period a Main Board listed issuer has to publish a notification in newspapers whenever it publishes an announcement on the HKEx website and its own website.

In addition, both Main Board and Growth Enterprise Market listed issuers will be required to submit their disclosures to HKEx electronically through the e-submission system.

The only new requirements for GEM issuers following the project's implementation are:

* all documents must be submitted electronically through the e-submission system for publication on the GEM website; and

* documents must be submitted within the same designated time periods as apply to Main Board issuers.

HKEx has completed all the major changes and enhancements to the infrastructure and internal procedures necessary for the implementation of the electronic disclosure project. A series of market-readiness programmes have also been conducted.

Faster disclosure

Mr Williams said: "The straight-through process for submitting and disseminating issuer documents will enable faster disclosures by listed issuers on the HKEx website, a central issuer document archive, and allow local and overseas investors to access issuer information in a more timely manner."

According to the implementation schedule, Main Board issuers will no longer be required to publish notifications in newspapers from December 25. From June 25 next year, every issuer must have its own website where the public must be able to access documents free of charge.