1. Introduction

With increasing overseas operational activities coupled with more accommodating and flexible regulations regarding disclosure and registration procedures for issuing overseas bonds, there has been a rapid increase in offshore bond issuances from China in the past decade. These offshore bonds from PRC enterprises can be denominated in renminbi or other currencies (such as US dollars and euros), though US dollar bonds account for the largest portion. Furthermore, as shall further discussed below, they can be issued directly by Chinese domestic enterprises as well as their offshore subsidiaries or branches.

Stevenson, Wong & Co. sponsored and co-organised a happy hour event with Roma Group, Formex, and Madison Wine on 8 July 2022. Our Partners Cornelia Chu, Rodney Teoh, and Osbert Hui attended the event. The event attracted more than a hundred participants.

Background

On 29 July 2022, The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (the “Exchange”) published its consultation conclusions (the “Consultation Conclusions”) as to its proposed amendments to the Rules Governing the Listing of Securities on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (the “Listing Rules”) in relation to Share Schemes of Listed Issuers. As the current Chapter 17 of the Listing Rules only governs share option schemes of the listing issuers and their subsidiaries, the Exchange proposed to extend Chapter 17 of the Listing Rules to also include share award schemes. Majority of the responses from the public supported the Exchange’s proposals outlined in its “Consultation Paper on Proposed Amendments to Listing Rules relating to Share Schemes of Listed Issuers” (the “Consultation Paper”) on 29 October 2021.

This article follows up with our news update in November 2021 on the Exchange’s Consultation Paper (please see our news update here). The capitalised terms used herein shall have the same meanings as defined in the Consultation Conclusions and Consultation Paper.

The Exchange has adopted most of its proposals with some minor modifications to reflect the public’s responses. These minor modifications mainly relate to the role of the remuneration committee, vesting period for share awards and options, and share schemes of subsidiaries. The amended Chapter 17 of the Listing Rules will become effective from 1 January 2023. We encourage listed issuers to amend their Share Schemes before the effective date.

Our Partner Gordon Tsang has been awarded a Grand Leadership Award in the Professional Volunteer Service Accreditation Programme (PVSA) 2020 – 2021 for his services to the community. Jointly organised by the Hong Kong Council of Volunteering, the Agency for Volunteer Service (HKCOV), the Agency for Volunteer Service (AVS), and the Law Society of Hong Kong, PVSA aims to encourage and recognize professionals and senior executives for contributing their professional knowledge and skills in serving the community. Gordon was a recipient of the Gold Award in 2019 – 2020.

Stevenson, Wong & Co., acted as the Hong Kong legal advisers to Network 1 Financial Securities, Inc., the lead underwriter of Magic Empire Global Limited(NASDAQ: MEGL) (“Magic Empire”) on its successful listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market on 5 August 2022. Magic Empire offered a total of 5,000,000 Ordinary Shares, priced at US$4.00 per share. The aggregate gross proceeds from the Offering was US$20 million.

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