13 -
Barings) helping companies on the Shanghai Stock Exchange issue "B" shares to foreigners.
2.21 Another related issue facing the Hong Kong authorities is the trend towards overseas domicile and secondary listing by Hong Kong
companies. Between 1988 and 1991 77 Hong Kong companies have changed their domicile away from Hong Kong, 26% of total Hong Kong listed
companies at end-1991. While at present only 10% of transactions by turnover in Hong Kong companies' shares are conducted on other
exchanges, mainly London (Singapore accounts for only 0.03%), this proportion might be expected to increase. The plans of HSBC to move
its 'mind and management' to London following its successful bid for
Midland Bank and Jardine's successful bid for a listing in London and
Hong Kong are only notable examples of the changes which are
occurring.
2 year
maturities
-hardly
long terme.
Also, their
perpare in
cerely
band market,
not to frames the crport.
a
长
11
Bond Markets
2.22 Neither Hong Kong nor Singapore have well developed domestic
bond markets, not least because the governments in both countries
have run budget deficits only rarely and so no government bond market
has ever developed. This is now changing in Hong Kong where the
government has started to issue long-term debt to help finance the
airport project and, in any case, there has been for several years a
trickle of foreign HK$ bond issues, most recently by the ASDB. These developments may in turn encourage Hong Kong and other companies to
issue bonds in Hong Kong although, given that only a trickle of
government bonds is likely over the next few years, the development
of Hong Kong's bond market looks likely to be a slow process. In
Singapore, there is no such development in prospect; foreign
companies are in any case prohibited from issuing S$ bonds and the authorities discourage the international use of the S$.