On 14 June 2023, partner Stephanie Chan and senior associate Adrian Tang of Sidley Austin’s office in Hong Kong delivered an engaging seminar on a “Practical Overview of HKEX’s Latest Guidance on Disclosure Requirements” to more than 620 members of the Hong Kong Chartered Governance Institute (HKCGI). The event brought together directors, company secretaries, senior management and auditors to better understand the practical challenges faced by Hong Kong listed issuers and their directors when seeking to achieve compliance with their disclosure obligations. The attendees spanned almost all of Hong Kong’s business sectors including professionals and representatives from listed issuers in, among others, the finance, real estate, technology, telecommunications, insurance, natural resources and transport sectors, as well as representatives from Hong Kong’s regulators. The unprecedented turnout for the seminar is testament to the very strong interest across all business sectors in the application of the disclosure requirements in the Hong Kong Listing Rules and the approach of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) when dealing with potential breaches and non-compliance.
The hybrid seminar was delivered virtually and in person at Sidley’s office in Hong Kong. Stephanie and Adrian shared their insights and tips on how to effectively comply with the disclosure obligations; the latest trends and areas of focus for the HKEX, including the use of IPO proceeds and the partial truth disclosures; and in the event of breaches, how to properly engage with the HKEX to facilitate a regulatory investigation and mitigate potential sanctions against the listed issuer and its directors. The seminar was very well received, with multiple attendees, including a number of Sidley’s clients, praising the presenters for their insights, depth of coverage and excellent use of visual slides.
The Hong Kong/China Division of The Chartered Governance Institute has over 70 years of history and the Institute’s reach and professional recognition extends to all of Institute’s nine divisions, with about 40,000 members and students worldwide. HKCGI is one of the fastest growing divisions of CGI, with over 7,000 current members, 300 graduates and 2,600 students with significant representations within listed companies and other cross industry governance functions. HKCGI is also a founder member of the Corporate Secretaries International Association (CSIA) which was established in March 2010 in Geneva, Switzerland.