The Hong Kong Stock Exchange needs to put the hearts of investors at ease over the dual-class shareholding structure to preserve its world market standing and be seen to be fair. Provided to China Daily The Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX), backed by the government, is making big strides in reforming the rules to allow dual-class shareholding companies to list in the city despite concerns it could undermine the interest of minority shareholders in those companies. Since losing out to New York over the listing of mainland e-commerce giant Alibaba Group a few years ago, the local bourse has been lobbying hard to change the regulations, arguing that the restriction has placed Hong Kong at a distinct disadvantage against rival financial centers in luring new technology companies to float in the special administrative region, particularly those from the Chinese mainland. The regulator's initial resistance melted away when the government openly backed the proposal after it became clear that the SAR had slipped behind New York and Shanghai in the global IPO market rankings. As it is, public consultations on the issue, which will end later this month, are nothing more than a formality. HKEX has insisted that sufficient provisions will be incorporated into the new rules to provide the necessary protection for minority shareholders' interests. But, there are important issues that need to be thrashed out to help clear lingering doubts in the minds of investors. For instance, nothing has been said about whether those dual-class shareholding companies with sufficiently large capitalization will be accepted as constituent stocks in the city's benchmark Hang Seng Index. This is important because if they aren't, then investors will have the choice of staying away from such stocks if they don't feel comfortable with the inherent unfairness of the shareholding structure. When these stocks are admitted into the exclusive club of the index constituent stocks, index fund managers will have no choice, but to include them in their portfolio in proportion to their index weighting. Another point of contention involves the Takeover Code which sets the trigger point of a general offer at a 30-percent holding. That trigger point has to be reset for dual-class shareholding stocks because of the different voting rights of the two classes of shares. The stock exchange is obliged to clarify all the issues that are of concern to investors to preserve its status as an international market that is fair and transparent. personalized silicone bracelets1 inch wide rubber bandscustom rubber bandscustom wrist sweatbands24hr wristbandpersonalized rubber bracelets
An eye specialist is warning parents and students about the misuse of laser pens, which can be purchased easily but have harmed the eyesight of a number of children in recent months.Laser pens are often used as pointers by teachers in classrooms, and have become popular with some schoolchildren in Chengdu, Sichuan province.Sold in many stationery shops in the city, most are priced between 5 yuan and 200 yuan ($0.8-$31). They can emit a narrow beam of light in either red, blue or green with a single click of a button.But pointing a laser beam into a person's eyes can damage the delicate organs. A number of students have sought treatment at the Ineye Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine.Xie Airui, an eye specialist at the hospital, has received two boys since September whose visual acuity fell off sharply after incidents involving laser pens. The first boy's eyes were burned. He couldn't see an object 10 centimeters away. A checkup showed that the macular area of his retina had been damaged, Xie said.The macular area is the most sensitive part of the eye and critical for vision, she said.The second boy, a high school student, was 15 when he sought treatment from Xie in September, after a classmate pointed a laser pen at him.A test found that the macular areas of both his eyes were burned and had obvious scarring. He could only see objects within 50 centimeters, Xie said.The resulting scars were consistent with those left by clinical lasers, she said, noting that damage to the macular areas can be permanent.Four years ago, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine issued a warning that laser pens could harm consumers. But no market supervisors have taken up the matter in a serious way, according to Xu Bin, a lawyer in Chengdu.
