港交所近日公布了矿业公司新《上市规则》要求，建议不接纳进行早期勘探的上市公司。针对矿业公司的《上市规则》新条文将于今年六月三日生效。港交所表示，此举旨在确保矿业公司提供重要、相关及可靠的资料予投资者，同时，使港交所规则与全球标准看齐。
金诚同达证券业务合伙人郑晓东表示：“新条例较以前的规定更为成熟，将对大型矿业和资源类公司以及投资者产生更多吸引力。与其选择到伦敦或者多伦多交易所上市，更多企业将可能选择在香港上市融资。”郑律师于2009年作为合伙人加入金诚同达律师事务所。此前，他曾在英国诺顿罗氏律师事务所工作。
最近，他曾协助朗生医药控股有限公司成功在香港联交所主板上市，募集资金达3.9亿港币。
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New listing rules – the criteria in a nutshell
· To establish eligibility for initial listing under the new Chapter 18 rules, a company's main activity must be the exploration for and/or extraction of natural resources (including minerals and petroleum) and this must represent 25% or more of the total assets, revenue or operating expenses of the company and its subsidiaries
· The company must also have a portfolio of resources identifiable under the applicable international reporting standard, the JORC Code, NI 43-101 or the SAMREC Code (Minerals) or PRMS (Petroleum). Companies that have only inferred or prospective resources will not qualify
· The HKSE has also expanded its approved list of acceptable jurisdictions for listing applicants, and Australia and Canada (British Columbia and Ontario) are now included
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Given the recent changes to listing rules, Chinese mining and natural resources companies will increasingly favour the option of an IPO in Hong Kong.
The Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd has recently issued new rules for the listing of exploration and mining companies on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEx). The new rules that set out disclosure obligations and standards for reporting resources and reserves, for valuing mineral and petroleum assets, and for the qualifications and experience of technical experts will take effect on 3 June 2010.
These rules are part of Hong Kong's pitch to IPO-hungry mining firms and its strategy is simple: China is the world's dominant source of commodity demand, and Hong Kong is China's international gateway. “The new rules are more mature and may attract more Chinese resource companies to choose to list on the HKSE instead of other international capital markets such as the AIM or TSX,” said Zheng Xiaodong, partner at Jincheng Tongda & Neal (JT&N). Zheng also stated that the HKSE, in comparison with local Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges, is more lax on administrative approvals and that also makes it a more feasible options for potentials.
Apart from companies that are yet to launch an IPO, Zheng said that the new rules may trigger re-issuances and re-listings of already listed companies, and in general, will generate new opportunities for PRC legal advisors.
Zheng recently also represented Lansen Pharma in its US$137m Hong Kong IPO. JT&N is the issuer’s long-term legal advisor, having advised on the merger and division of its PRC subsidiaries and its acquisitions and investments in upstream and downstream enterprises in China. ALB