needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . january 2013 learn how and when to remove this template message the stock exchange of hong kong limited type stock exchange location central hong kong founded 1891 owner hong kong exchanges and clearing key people li xiaojia charles ceo chow chung kong chairman currency hkd cny usd no . of listings 1 866 2015 1 market cap hkd 24.68 trillion 2015 1 volume hkd 26.09 trillion 2015 1 indices hang seng index website www.hkex.com.hk hong kong stock exchange chinese transcriptions standard mandarin hanyu pinyin xi ngg ng ji oy su yue cantonese jyutping hoeng1 gong2 gaau1 jik6 so2 yale romanization h ungg ng g auyihks alternative chinese name chinese transcriptions standard mandarin hanyu pinyin g ngji osu yue cantonese jyutping gong2 gaau1 so2 yale romanization g ngg aus the stock exchange of hong kong limited sehk is a stock exchange located in hong kong . it is east asia s and asia s third largest stock exchange in terms of market capitalization behind the tokyo stock exchange and shanghai stock exchange and the sixth largest in the world before euronext . as of 30 november 2013 sehk had 1 615 listed companies 776 of which are from mainland china 737 from hong kong and 102 from abroad e.g. cambodia italy kazakhstan etc. 2 hong kong exchanges and clearing owns sehk and is itself listed on sehk . a small physical trading floor still exists at exchange square hong kong but accounts for less than 1 % of volume . 3 contents 1 history 1.1 brief chronology 1.2 exchange history and predecessors 2 trading hours 3 electronic trading 4 regulatory role 5 trading characteristics 6 17 largest stocks by market capitalisation 7 see also 8 references 9 external links history edit this article needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . september 2015 learn how and when to remove this template message hong kong exchange trade lobby the hong kong securities market can be traced back to 1866 but the stock market was formally set up in 1891 when the association of stockbrokers in hong kong was established . 4 it was renamed the hong kong stock exchange in 1914 . by 1972 hong kong had four stock exchanges in operation . there were subsequently calls for the formation of a unified stock exchange . the stock exchange of hong kong limited the exchange was incorporated in 1980 and trading on the exchange finally commenced on 2 april 1986 . since 1986 a number of major developments have taken place . the 1987 market crash revealed flaws in the market and led to calls for a complete reform of the hong kong securities industry . this led to significant regulatory changes and infrastructural developments . as a result the securities and futures commission sfc was set up in 1989 as the single statutory securities market regulator . the market infrastructure was much improved how with the introduction by the exchange of the central clearing and settlement system ccass in june 1992 and the automatic order matching and execution system ams in november 1993 . since then the framework of market rules and regulations both exchange administered or otherwise have been undergoing continuing review and revision to meet changing market needs while ensuring effective market regulation . the exchange listing rules have been made more comprehensive and other existing regulations have been improved or new regulations introduced to enhance market development and investor protection . enhancements were also made to the system infrastructure including the launch of off floor trading terminals in brokers offices in january 1996 . the third generation of the trading system ams 3 will be launched in 2000 . it will provide enhanced functionality and a platform for a straight through transaction process . in respect of market and product development there are the listing of the first derivative warrant in february 1988 the listing of the first china incorporated enterprise h share in july 1993 ; and the introduction of regulated short selling in january 1994 and stock options in september 1995 . furthermore the exchange introduced the growth enterprise market gem in november 1999 to provide fund raising opportunities for growth companies of all sizes from all industries and to promote the development of technology industries in the region . according to the reform plan announced in march 1999 the exchange the hong kong futures exchange and their clearing houses merged into a new holding company the hong kong exchanges and clearing limited . citation needed brief chronology edit on 2 april 1986 a new trading hall is opened . at that time a total of 249 companies were listed on the exchange total market capitalisation was hk 245 billion 6 october 1986 stock exchange grand opening october 1987 the stock exchange is closed for four days in an attempt to stop losses during black monday global equities market crash may 1988 the ian hay davison report commissioned to investigate practices on the exchange in the lead up to its closure is released resulting in significant market reforms although many took years to finally implement on 24 june 1992 the central clearing and settlement system ccass is introduced on 15 july 1993 in the tsingtao brewery became the first chinese enterprise to list its h shares on the exchange . on 1 november 1993 a new automatic order matching and execution system ams 1 was introduced on the exchange ; later in january 1996 the second phase ams 2 was introduced becoming the basis of off floor trading . on 12 november 1999 the tracker fund of hong kong created by government intervention during the 1997 asian financial crisis had its introduction on the exchange . 25 november 1999 two companies were jointly listed on the newly created growth enterprise market gem on 6 march 2000 the stock exchange futures exchange and the hong kong securities clearing company all became wholly owned subsidiaries of hkex which was in turn listed on 27 june 2000 . on 23 october 2000 ams 3 was implemented on the exchange . source hk ex 5 exchange history and predecessors edit 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 1956 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 trading hours edit russian president dmitry medvedev with exchange chairman ronald arculli during a visit to hong kong on 17 april 2011 . the trading day consists of a pre opening auction session from 9 00 am to 9 30 am . the opening price of a security is reported shortly after 9 20 am . 6 a morning continuous trading session from 09 30 am to 12 00 pm 6 an extended morning session from 12 00 noon to 1 00 pm also referred to as the lunch break . 6 7 continuous trading proceeds in specifically designated securities currently two etfs 4362 and 4363 . trading in other securities is not possible . however previously placed orders in any securities can be cancelled from 1 00 pm onwards . 8 an afternoon continuous trading session from 1 00 pm to 4 00 pm 6 the closing price is reported as the median of five price snapshots taken from 3 59 to 4 00 pm every 15 seconds . 9 in may 2008 the exchange also implemented a closing auction session to run from 4 00 pm to 4 10 pm with a similar pricing mechanism as the opening auction ; however this resulted in significant fluctuations in the closing prices of stocks and suspicions of market manipulation . initially the exchange proposed limiting price fluctuations in the auction sessions to 2 % ; in the end they removed the closing session entirely in march 2009 . 10 up until 2011 trading hours comprised a pre opening auction from 9 30 am to 9 50 am followed by continuous trading from 10 00 am to 12 30 pm and 2 30 pm to 4 00 pm . the two hour lunch break between the morning and afternoon sessions was the longest among the world s 20 major stock exchanges . a 2003 proposal to shorten the lunch break failed due to opposition from brokers . another plan to shorten the lunch break to one hour was floated by the exchange in 2010 ; the morning session would then start earlier run from 9 30 am to 12 00 pm and the afternoon session from 1 00 pm to 4 00 pm leaving the closing time the same as before . justifications included bringing hours into line with china . reactions from both brokers and the restaurant industry were mixed . 11 on 7 march 2011 the exchange extended its hours in the first of two phases . the morning session now ran from 9 30 am to 12 00 noon followed by a ninety minute lunch break and an afternoon session from 1 30 pm to 4 00 pm . index futures and options now began trading at 9 15 am thirty minutes earlier than before and closed at the same time as before 4 15 pm . on 5 march 2012 the lunch break was cut to sixty minutes with the afternoon session running from 1 00 pm to 4 00 pm . 7 electronic trading edit economy of hong kong identity hong kong dollar banknotes coins monetary authority four asian tigers resources employment transport tourism postal agri aqua ports manufacturing companies stock exchange growth enterprise market companies listed on hkse other hong kong topics culture education geography history politics hong kong portal v t e the exchange first introduced a computer assisted trading system on 2 april 1986 . 12 in 1993 the exchange launched the automatic order matching and execution system ams which was replaced by the third generation system ams 3 in october 2000 . 13 regulatory role edit david webb independent non executive director of the exchange since 2003 has been arguing for a super regulatory authority to assume that role as regulator as there is inherent conflict between its commercial and regulatory roles . in the meantime he argues for improved investor representation on the hong kong stock exchange . in 2007 the uproar by smaller local stockbrokers over the decision by board of directors to cut minimum trading spreads for equities and warrants trading at between 25 hk cents and hk 2 caused the new board to vote to reverse the decision . the reforms were to be implemented in the first quarter but was put back on the table following protests by brokers . webb criticised the board for caving in to vested interests . 14 trading characteristics edit this section needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . june 2009 learn how and when to remove this template message it is perfectly normal for hong kong stocks of even well known companies to trade at prices that correspond to less than hk 4 a share . a hong kong stock would not be considered a penny stock