HONG KONG, CHINA – OCTOBER 13: A taxi crosses an empty intersection in the central business district during a storm signal No. 8 for Typhoon Kompasu, the 18th typhoon of this year, on October 13, 2021 in Hong Kong, China.
Chinese News Service | Chinese News Service | Getty Images
Hong Kong's financial markets will continue trading even during typhoons and extreme weather from September 23, CEO John Lee announced on Tuesday.
Speaking against his weekly press conferenceLee said there was broad support for allowing trading in extreme weather, in line with other cities.
“Hong Kong is an international financial center and there is no reason for us not to align ourselves with international financial standards,” Lee said.
He noted that during consultations by the Hong Kong Exchange, more than 90% of brokerage firms and securities firms supported the proposal.
The decision comes as Hong Kong braces for the peak of the typhoon season – which mainly takes place between August and September, according to the climatic database Worlddata.info.
This ends the city's decades-long practice of closing the 32.9 trillion ($4.2 billion) Hong Kong dollar market during heavy rains or typhoons. Currently the The Hong Kong stock exchange halts trading when a typhoon signal or a so-called “black rainstorm warning” is issued.
According to the Hong Kong Observatorythere were eleven tropical cyclones that reached typhoon intensity or higher in 2023 – that is less than the 60-year average of about 15 between 1961 and 2020.
Currently the Hong Kong exchange cancels morning session if extreme weather conditions persist after 9:00 AM and before 11:00 AM local time. If extreme conditions persist after 12:00 noon, an entire trading day will be canceled
