On 24 February 2016, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) published conclusions to their consultation proposing to expand the scope of the short position reporting by amending the Securities and Futures (Short Position Reporting) Rules (SPR Rules).

The SFC has concluded that, as proposed in the original consultation, the short position reporting will be expanded to cover all securities on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited that can be sold short. A list of such securities is available here.

The reporting threshold for securities (excluding collective investment schemes) remains unchanged at the lower of 0.02% of the stock’s market capitalisation or HK$30 million, whereas the threshold for collective investment schemes will be set at HK$30 million, as opposed to previously excluded.

The amended SPR Rules will come into effect on 15 March 2017, subject to the legislative process. The SFC intends to release further details about the operational reporting arrangements in due course.