Hong Kong bourse operator HKEX to launch digital IPO platform FINI on November 22, eyes cutting settlement times from 5 to 2 days

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The Fast Interface for New Issuance, or FINI, will cut the time between listing pricing and the start of trade from the current five business days to two

Shorter settlement times can ‘drive efficiency, reduce risk and free up capital, bringing benefits to all professional parties in the IPO process’, CPA Australia executive says

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Hong Kong’s Central business district. Besides shortening settlement times, FINI will have a new pre-funding model that will reduce the scale of locked-up funds in oversubscribed IPOs, HKEX says. Photo: Jelly Tse

Enoch Yiu

Published: 6:32pm, 27 Sep 2023

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX), which operates Asia’s third largest stock market, will launch a long-awaited new digitalised initial public offering (IPO) platform on November 22 in its latest push to reboot the city’s new listings market.

The Fast Interface for New Issuance, or FINI, will speed up the IPO process by cutting the time between listing pricing and the start of trade from the current five business days to two, according to an exchange announcement on Wednesday.

Unlike the existing IPO system, which involves different parties using many manual processes and paperwork to exchange information, FINI will operate as a cloud-based platform enabling different listing stakeholders – such as sponsors, underwriters, legal advisers, banks, clearing participants, share registrars and regulators – to collaborate and perform their respective roles digitally in real time.

“This cloud-based, real-time settlement process can benefit market stakeholders in this digital era,” said Robert Lui, divisional president for Greater China at CPA Australia, an accounting body. “A shorter settlement time can drive efficiency, reduce risk and free up capital, bringing benefits to all professional parties in the IPO process.

“Specifically, FINI reduces risk for lawyers by centralising data and providing transparent information via a single platform. Sponsors can check the real-time status of subscriptions and share allotment and money settlement data. FINI can free up capital for investors, enabling them to subscribe to more IPOs.”

FINI is HKEX’s latest effort to boost the Hong Kong IPO market this year after the opening of a New York office in June and a London office earlier this month to attract international listings.