On 10 April 2017, Stevenson, Wong & Co. held a seminar at The Society of Chinese Accountants and Auditors in relation to the latest listing and placing requirements of Growth Enterprise Market (“GEM”) IPOs. Mr. Hank Lo, partner and head of corporate finance, and Mr. Terence Lau, associate, explained the key issues relating to the joint statement issued by the Securities and Futures Commission (“SFC”) and The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited on 20 January 2017 and the “Guideline to sponsors, underwriters and placing agents involved in the listing and placing of GEM stocks” issued by the SFC. The seminar attracted around 80 attendees, including practising accountants.

The joint statement was made in response to the volatile price movements of GEM stocks in recent years. Mr. Lo and Mr. Lau briefly introduced the joint statement and the Guideline, which emphasises the importance for GEM listing applicants to abide by the GEM Listing Rules. In particular, GEM Rule 11.23 requires an open market in the securities for which listing is sought. While the rule aims to ensure there is sufficient liquidity of the shares in the market and to minimise the situations giving rise to manipulation of share price, Mr. Lo emphasized that having met the minimum number of 100 public shareholders as required under GEM Rule 11.23(2)(b) does not necessarily mean GEM Rule 11.23 has been satisfied. “There were cases where more than 90 percent of the offered shares were taken up by the top 25 places and the remaining taken up by a larger number of shareholders to meet the minimum public shareholders requirement yet it was suspected that the conditions for an open market may not exist,” Mr. Lo stated.

Mr. Lau also gave an overview of the Guideline, which covers the general obligations of sponsors and placing agents in relation to new listing and placing, such as conducting adequate “know-your-client” procedures and adopting a robust marketing and placing strategy.

In the Q&A session, the attendees asked questions relating to the impact for those involved in GEM listings. Mr. Lo and Mr. Lau answered the questions in details with in-depth viewpoints. The seminar received positive feedback from the attendees.

Should you have any enquiries to our services or this event, please contact Mr. Hank Lo or Mr. Terence Lau for further information.

Over 80 attendees, including practising accountants joined the seminar.

Our partner Mr. Hank Lo (2nd from right) and Associate Mr. Terence Lau (1st from right) held the seminar at The Society of Chinese Accountants and Auditors

On 8 April 2017, our legal executive Mr. Man Wong attended the opening ceremony of local gaming and racing gadgets company Zenox.

As one of the pioneers in the market, Zenox has its focus on gaming chairs. With the rapid growth in the gaming industry, we were delighted to be invited to the event hosted by Zenox to celebrate the brilliant start of its business, which shows our commitment to keep exploring emerging markets with entrepreneurs. We look forward to developing a successful business relationship with Zenox.

Stevenson, Wong & Co. provides comprehensive legal services to help businesses in financing, company formation and more. Should you have any enquiries to our services or this event, please kindly contact Mr. Man Wong for further information.

On 5 April 2017, our partners Mr. Eric Lui and Ms. Heidi Chui attended a seminar as main speakers hosted by Ningbo Arbitration Commission.

Held at Ningbo Wuyi Square, the seminar was about practical issues of legal matters related to Hong Kong. Ms. Chui spoke on the topic of international arbitration and relevant enforcement measures in aid of international arbitration in Hong Kong. She shared the knowhow of cross-border litigation between China and Hong Kong with case studies, showing the strategies of asset protection before arbitration and the purpose of appointing an interim receiver. During the seminar, Ms. Chui also introduced the application of Mareva Injunction and a structured overview of enforcement of arbitral awards.

Meanwhile, Mr. Lui also spoke on the topic about the requirements for mainland business to work on IPO in Hong Kong. The seminar received positive feedback with more than 40 legal professionals participated. Mr. Lui and Ms. Chui looked forward to other exchange activities with Ningbo Arbitration Commission in the future.

Providing a comprehensive legal service to our clients, Stevenson, Wong & Co. possesses profound experience in cross-border disputes resolution with a team of seasoned practitioners who always act in the clients’ best interests. Please contact our Mr. Eric Lui or Ms. Heidi Chui for any enquiries or further information about our service and this event.

SW acted as the legal adviser in the following IPO transactions:

We look forward to assist clients reaching more of their business milestones by delivering high quality, efficient and professional legal services. Please contact our Hank Lo, Eric Lui, Cornelia Chu, Erica Cheng or Rodney Teoh for any enquiries or further information about the above transactions.

This month, Stevenson, Wong & Co. cooperated with Hospital Authority to organise a series of talks and workshops for “Ideal BMI Disease Prevention Project” to raise staff awareness of weight management.

The project comprised a series of activities including interactive workshops and health check sessions held at the office of Stevenson, Wong & Co. More than 20 staff attended the weekly workshops on different topics ranging from healthy diet, health food products, nutrition labelling to simple healthy exercises. Delivered by a registered dietitian, the workshops also gave some suggestions about the consumption of health food products.

In addition, participants learned the importance of sports and exercise from a registered exercise professional from Hong Kong Council of Early Childhood Education and Services by enjoying a brief lesson of simple exercises suitable for both the office and home environment.

In the last session, each participant enjoyed an individual health check assessment for their own body measurement and weight with analysis given by the registered dietitian.

Stevenson, Wong & Co. has always put an enormous effort into improving the well-being of staff by holding different types of seminars and activities. If you have any enquiries about this event, please contact our Ms. Vivian Lo for more details.

On 18 March 2017, our partner Mr. Rodney Teoh and legal executive (banking & finance department) Mr. Man Wong attended the business development and strategic cooperation contract signing ceremony of Huarong Investment Stock Corporation Limited held at Island Shangri-La, Hong Kong.

We have a strong relationship and cooperation with Huarong Investment Stock Corporation Limited, a Hong Kong-listed service provider of comprehensive investment and financing solutions under China Huarong Asset Management Co., Ltd., the largest financial asset management company in terms of assets in China. Mr. Teoh and Mr. Wong both congratulated Huarong Investment Stock Corporation Limited for its development and looked forward to achieving more success together in the future.

For more enquiries about this event, please contact our Mr. Rodney Teoh.

SWC partner Mr. Rodney Teoh (left) and legal executive Mr. Man Wong (right) attended the business development and strategic cooperation contract signing ceremony of Huarong Investment Stock Corporation Limited.