Mar 2025
The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited published on 24 January 2025 its Conclusions on Further Paperless Listing Reforms.
The proposals adopted include, among others, that issuers are to:
- provide securities holders with an option to send instructions to issuers electronically;
- provide securities holders with an option to receive corporate action proceeds (e.g. dividends) electronically;
- provide securities holders with an option to pay subscription monies for offers electronically (including open offers, rights issues, preferential offers and bonus issues of securities to existing securities holders); and
- ensure their constitutional documents enable them to hold hybrid general meetings and provide electronic voting.
Issuers that have not done so already are therefore required to amend their constitutional documents to enable them to hold hybrid general meetings and provide for electronic voting. Issuers will have until their next annual general meeting held after 1 July 2025 to implement the hybrid and electronic amendments.
We recommend that issuers review their constitutional documents and determine whether amendments are required to remove any prohibitions and establish procedures for the conduct of hybrid and electronic meetings and electronic voting.
Our team can assist you with a review of your current bye-laws or articles of association and propose the necessary amendments (along with ancillary changes to bring the constitutional documents up to date with current applicable laws and practices) to ensure you are in compliance with the updated paperless listing regime.
Please reach out to your usual Conyers contact or Head of Corporate Services Hong Kong, Rowan Wu.