Hong Kong to Consider Allowing Stock Trading During Severe Weather

(Bloomberg) — Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd. is exploring arrangements to continue trading under severe weather in a bid to facilitate investor transactions amid wider trends of remote working in the finance industry.

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Financial Secretary Paul Chan announced the plan in his budget speech Wednesday, saying the city’s bourse will study a series of proposals on the optimization of its trading mechanism, including “arrangements for maintaining operation for the market under inclement weathers.”

The bourse will also review its self-trade prevention function as well as relevant restrictions to facilitate transactions and “dovetail with the market trend.”

HKEX shares pared an earlier drop of as much as 2.8%. The stock is still down 0.8%.

Currently, trading in shares and other securities could be halted under extreme weather, such as typhoon. Such rules are seen as increasingly antiquated given that the global finance industry has adjusted to remote working amid the pandemic.

Hong Kong Exchange CEO Explores Ending Bad Weather Trading Halt

(Updates with share moves and more context)

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