HONG KONG Exchanges and Clearing Ltd., the world s most valuable stock exchange, said yesterday that the territory s first yuan-denominated equity product was likely to be a real estate investment trust (REIT).
The exchange was preparing for trial trading of new yuan products, head of market development Romi Lamba said in a speech at a business meeting.
The Hong Kong exchange has been eager to launch new products denominated in yuan to expand its product base by taking advantage of the Central Government s recent promotion of Hong Kong as its offshore yuan trading hub.
Billionaire Li Ka-shing s Cheung Kong Ltd. is expected to launch Hong Kong s first offshore yuan product in the form of a REIT this year, spinning off some of its Beijing properties for listing in Hong Kong.
The Hong Kong exchange issued a circular earlier this month that it would conduct simulations of electronic initial public offering subscription, trading, clearing and money settlement of listed yuan products March 19 and 20.
The trial was mainly to test the readiness of market participants for trading yuan equity products and IPOs, a Hong Kong exchange spokesman said last week.
(SD-Agencies)
