The Hong Kong Stock Exchange needs to put the hearts of investors at ease over the dual-class shareholding structure to preserve its world market standing and be seen to be fair. Provided to China Daily The Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX), backed by the government, is making big strides in reforming the rules to allow dual-class shareholding companies to list in the city despite concerns it could undermine the interest of minority shareholders in those companies. Since losing out to New York over the listing of mainland e-commerce giant Alibaba Group a few years ago, the local bourse has been lobbying hard to change the regulations, arguing that the restriction has placed Hong Kong at a distinct disadvantage against rival financial centers in luring new technology companies to float in the special administrative region, particularly those from the Chinese mainland. The regulator's initial resistance melted away when the government openly backed the proposal after it became clear that the SAR had slipped behind New York and Shanghai in the global IPO market rankings. As it is, public consultations on the issue, which will end later this month, are nothing more than a formality. HKEX has insisted that sufficient provisions will be incorporated into the new rules to provide the necessary protection for minority shareholders' interests. But, there are important issues that need to be thrashed out to help clear lingering doubts in the minds of investors. For instance, nothing has been said about whether those dual-class shareholding companies with sufficiently large capitalization will be accepted as constituent stocks in the city's benchmark Hang Seng Index. This is important because if they aren't, then investors will have the choice of staying away from such stocks if they don't feel comfortable with the inherent unfairness of the shareholding structure. When these stocks are admitted into the exclusive club of the index constituent stocks, index fund managers will have no choice, but to include them in their portfolio in proportion to their index weighting. Another point of contention involves the Takeover Code which sets the trigger point of a general offer at a 30-percent holding. That trigger point has to be reset for dual-class shareholding stocks because of the different voting rights of the two classes of shares. The stock exchange is obliged to clarify all the issues that are of concern to investors to preserve its status as an international market that is fair and transparent. custom wristbandsred wristbandrubber wristbandsjordan wristbanddebossed wristbandwide rubber bands
The phrase a beautiful life found several mentions in the report General Secretary Xi Jinping delivered to the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China on Wednesday, which reflects the people-oriented development approach of the Party leadership with Xi at the core. To have a beautiful life has long been a dream of the Chinese people. To help people lead a better life, by extending them equal opportunities and tapping their potential to the maximum, is the ultimate goal of China's development and a motivator for its further development. Chinese people will pursue a beautiful life, as Xi said in his report, for the comfort, happiness and security it brings. Over the past five years, Chinese people's living conditions have greatly improved, with more than 60 million impoverished people lifted out of poverty and the education system in the less-developed and central and western regions ameliorated. China's employment condition, too, is better, and the incomes of urban and rural residents have grown faster than the GDP, while the middle-income group has expanded, and the healthcare and social governance systems have vastly improved. But by mentioning a beautiful life several times, Xi did not mean the authorities are satisfied with the improvement in people's living conditions. Instead, it means one of the Party's goals will be to ensure people succeed in their pursuit of a better life, for which it will introduce measures to extend the benefits of deepened reform and development to all. That Xi used a beautiful life several times in his report shows people can expect a sustainable beautiful life in the future. That is also why Xi said a new contradiction is people's ever-growing needs for a beautiful life and China's unbalanced and inadequate development, resolving which is an imperative task in the new era. The realization of a beautiful life should not be confined to a well-devised vision for the people. As Xi said, it is by no means an easy task to realize the goal of a beautiful life, as it requires the unrelenting efforts of all Chinese people, even for a couple of generations. It is, therefore, important for China to make further efforts to deepen reforms, extend the ongoing reforms from administrative, economic and cultural fields to other areas, and thoroughly cure the ailments plaguing existing current mechanisms and institutions, so as to release the vitality of the non-governmental sector and promote creativity. China should also continue to be receptive to constructive foreign concepts, and hold an inclusive approach toward the international community with the aim of totally integrating with it. And ignoring the resistance of vested interst groups to reforms, China should instead deepen the reforms to enhance public confidence in their effectiveness for the betterment of the country as a whole. Moreover, the authorities should exercise restraint when it comes to using their powers and, instead, strengthen regulations to guarantee equal competition and fair transaction among market players and create an open, competitive and orderly market, in which every citizen's right to equal participation, development and private property is protected. And to ensure the people succeed in their pursuit of a beautiful life, government departments should, based on their actual conditions, work more efficiently and expedite institution building to facilitate the smooth functioning of the sharing economy. Apart from their sense of material gain, Chinese people also have higher demands for rule of law, economic equality, justice, security and a pollution-free environment, which are important for a beautiful life. Standing at a new historical starting point, the Chinese people are surely capable of overcoming the obstacles ahead. The article was first published on ifeng.com.
