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The Hong Kong Stock Exchange

is the stock exchange of Hong Kong.

With a total market capitalization of over US$1.87 trillion as of May 2007, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange ranks seventh in the world by market capitalization of listed companies (see List of stock exchanges for complete rankings). Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing is the holding company for the exchange.

The history of the securities exchange began formally in the late 19th century with the first establishment in 1891, though informal securities exchanges have been known to take place since 1861. The exchange has predominantly been the main exchange for Hong Kong despite co-existing with other exchanges at different point in time. After a series of complex mergers and acquisitions, HKSE remains to be the core. From 1947 to 1969 the exchange monopolized the market. Computers were integrated on April 2, 1986, which has helped modernize the system. In 1993 the exchange launched the "Automatic Order Matching and Execution System" (AMS) that was replaced by the third generation system (AMS/3) in October 2000. Systems as such were added to meet the increased popularity of online Stock trading.


Holding Company logo at Exhibition Hall

Association of Stockbrokers in Hong Kong (Founded 1891)
(1914) Renamed to Hong Kong Stock Exchange
(1947) A merger is made after World War II with Hong Kong Stock Exchange retaining the name		Hong Kong Stockbrokers Association (Founded 1921)
Hong Kong Stockholders Association Ltd (Founded 1978) allow info sharing between HKSE and other exchanges		Far East Exchange Ltd (Founded 1969)		Kam Ngan Stock Exchange Ltd (Founded 1971)		Kowloon Stock Exchange Ltd (Founded 1972)
(1986) HKSE merges with other exchanges and retain the name but also presented as Stock Exchange of Hong Kong
(2000) Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing becomes the holding company for Hong Kong Stock Exchange		Hong Kong Futures Exchange Ltd (Founded 1976)		Hong Kong Securities Clearing Company Ltd (Founded 1989)

Business

Trading Hours: From 10:00am to 12:30pm and from 2:30pm to 4:00pm

(Summer: From 10:00pm to 12:30pm and from 2:30am to 4:00am New York time)
(Winter: From 9:00pm to 11:30pm and from 1:30am to 3:00am New York time)

40 Largest Stocks by Market Capitalisation

Source: Bloomberg, in billions of Hong Kong dollars, Data updated on 20 January 2007

1. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China - $1,720.49
2. PetroChina - $1,713.23
3. HSBC Holdings - $1,654.82
4. China Mobile - $1,411.83
5. Bank of China - $1,175.62
6. China Life Insurance - $1,114.84
7. China Construction Bank - $1,074.01
8. Sinopec Corp - $769.91
9. Manulife Financial - $404.27
10. Bank of Communications - $392.54
11. China Shenhua Energy - $364.51
12. Hutchison Whampoa - $342.78
13. China Telecom - $317.25
14. Standard Chartered - $315.76
15. CNOOC - $290.30
16. Sun Hung Kai Properties - $249.18
17. China Merchants Bank - $245.62
18. Cheung Kong Holdings - $244.12
19. Ping An Insurance Group of China - $230.77
20. Bank of China (Hong Kong) Holdings - $225.73
21. Hang Seng Bank - $215.27
22. Foxconn International Holdings - $171.45
23. CLP Holdings - $140.52
24. Swire Pacific - $136.98
25. China Communications Construction - $128.69
26. China Unicom - $127.27
27. China Netcom - $121.84
28. MTR Corporation - $116.24
29. Esprit Holdings - $98.82
30. Hong Kong & China Gas - $96.29
31. Henderson Land Development - $94.99
32. Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing - $94.60
33. Huaneng Power International - $90.30
34. Hutchison Telecommunications International - $89.84
35. Hang Lung Properties - $88.23
36. Sino Land - $87.78
37. Cathay Pacific Airways - $84.21
38. Aluminium Corp of China - $84.08
39. Air China - $84.02
40. Li & Fung - $82.17