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Hong Kong bourse operator weighs longer trading hours to sharpen hub edge, sources say

Nasdaq’s 23-hour expansion and London’s round-the-clock push pile pressure on Hong Kong to rethink its shorter trading day

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HKEX says it is in talks with the SFC on trading hours, without giving specifics. Photo: Jelly Tse.
Enoch Yiu
Bourse operator Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) is considering extending trading hours to align with moves by global peers and sharpen the city’s competitiveness as an international financial centre.
HKEX and the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) confirmed that they were discussing the matter, but did not give details.

The discussion was in an early stage and options included extending the afternoon close to 5pm or even 8pm, two separate sources told the South China Morning Post. Scrapping the one-hour lunch break was not being actively considered, they added.

“HKEX is in an early discussion to explore the idea of extending the trading hours and it would consult the market before making any changes on a long-term basis,” one source said.

Pressure has mounted on the bourse operator after global peers stretched their sessions. Nasdaq, home to tech giants such as Apple, Microsoft and Amazon, planned to expand to 23 hours a day, five days a week, up from 16 hours a day now, according to its website.

The London Stock Exchange Group also weighed 24-hour trading to meet demand from retail investors, the Financial Times reported in July last year, citing sources. The London bourse is now trading from 8am to 4.30pm.

HKEX currently trades for five and a half hours on weekdays, from 9.30am to 4pm, with a one-hour lunch break. That compares with four hours in Shanghai and Shenzhen, five in Tokyo, six and a half in Toronto, eight and a half in London and 14 hours in Frankfurt.

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