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Hong Kong coup for island firms

THE Isle of Man has been accepted as an ‘approved jurisdiction’ by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE). In doing so, the Isle of Man joins a select group of countries which have been accepted by the Hong Kong Listing Committee. These include Bermuda, Cayman, the UK, Cyprus, Germany, Luxembourg, Singapore, Australia and the British Virgin Islands.
The acceptance as an approved jurisdiction means that a company incorporated in the Isle of Man can now seek a listing on the HKSE. IOMToday This important recognition has been achieved after the Isle of Man was able to demonstrate it has the same standards of investor and shareholder protection as those available under Hong Kong company law.

Juan Watterson MHK, political member of the Department of Economic Development responsible for financial services, said: ‘This paves the way for the Isle of Man to attract foreign issuers to list on the HKSE. In recent years, the island has become the leading jurisdiction for listing foreign companies on the UK’s AIM market. A number of our commercial law firms already have considerable international expertise working with Asian lawyers, including equity and debt issues, by Isle of Man companies on other Asian exchanges and in some cases have representative offices in Asia. We are constantly looking for ways to improve and build on the island’s international reputation as a high-quality International Business Centre, and this listing approval is a further example of this commitment.’