Guernsey Seeks Listings On Shenzhen Exchange

by Mary Swire, Tax-News.com, Hong Kong

30 November 2011

A delegation from Guernsey has visited Shenzhen, China, to engage with policymakers on the prospect of Guernsey companies listing on the local stock exchange.

The visit came in the days after a specific event was held in Hong Kong to promote the fact that in May this year Guernsey received approval for its companies to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEx). Guernsey officials also recently met with the Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX) to assess the potential for Guernsey companies to be listed on that exchange.

The high-level Guernsey delegation included Carla McNulty Bauer, Minister of the Commerce and Employment Department, Alan Bougourd, Registrar of Companies at the Guernsey Registry, Peter Niven, Chief Executive of Guernsey Finance, and his Deputy, Fiona Le Poidevin.

The Guernsey representatives met with a five-strong team from the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, including Assistant President Zhou Jian Nan.

McNulty Bauer said: “We were very well received by Assistant President Zhou and his team. They gave us a presentation about their exchange and we explained about Guernsey’s finance industry and in particular the Channel Islands Stock Exchange (CISX). Indeed, it was very interesting to note that Shenzhen has some 1,300 securities listed whereas there are more than 4,200 listings on the CISX. Shenzhen is very much in its infancy and currently focused more on small- and medium-sized entities – whereas Shanghai seems to be attracting sizeable structures – and their team was extremely interested in the role that the CISX plays within Guernsey’s finance industry.”

“Of course, we have already received approval for Guernsey companies to list on HKEx, we have held discussions with the Singapore Exchange to assess the potential for Guernsey companies to be listed on that exchange and we have a long-standing relationship with the Shanghai Stock Exchange. It is very early days but we hope that the talks are the first step down the road to Guernsey companies being listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.”

The visit to Shenzhen came after a week of promotional activity in Singapore, including attendance at the STEP Asia conference and a week of meetings and events in Hong Kong, including the Guernsey listings seminar and participation at the Asian Venture Capital Journal forum.

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