Bank of East Asia and China Merchants Port kicked out of benchmark Hang Seng Index
Sino Biopharmaceutical and Shenzhou International Group take their place on the index from September 10
China Merchants Port Holdings and Bank of East Asia, long term constituents of Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng Index, will be replaced by Sino Biopharmaceutical and Shenzhou International Group Holdings from September 10, index compiler Hang Seng Indexes Company said on Friday as part of its quarterly review that ended on June 29.
Sino Biopharmaceutical, listed since 2000, the Chinese drug maker has been a constituent of the Hang Seng Composite Industry Index since 2010. It is a also part of MSCI China Index since 2013.
Shenzhou International Group, the largest knitwear manufacturer in China, listed since 2005 has part been part of the Hang Seng Composite Index since 2010.
To make it as a Hang Seng Index component, a stock should normally have a listing history of 24 months on the Hong Kong stock exchange and must be among the companies that constitute the top 90 percentile of the total market cap of Hong Kong’s stock universe, based on the average figure of market caps in the past 12 months. Although some exceptions have been made in the past.
It must also be among companies that constitute the top 90 percentile of the total turnover of the stock universe.
The index compiler’s decision to exclude Bank of East Asia and China Merchants Port was because of their turnover volume and market capitalisation did not meet the minimum requirements.
The companies could not be reached for comment as the announcements were made after office hours on Friday.
“There are already a number of banking shares in the index and Bank of East Asia has been trading at a low level for a while,” said Kenny Tang Sing-hing, chief executive of Jun Yang Securities, adding that it was a similar situation for China Merchants Port Holdings for being excluded from the benchmark index.
The index compiler also said that the Hang Seng Global Composite Index (HSGCI), which comprised of constituents in the Hang Seng Composite Index (HSCI) and the Hang Seng Foreign Companies Composite Index will be terminated from September 10.
“Due to the inclusion of foreign companies in the universe of eligible constituents for the HSCI, the index now serves as a benchmark that is similar in nature to the HSGCI. In view of this duplication of market coverage, the HSGCI will be terminated,” Hang Seng Indexes Company said.
Separately, Xiaomi and China Tower, two companies that made headlines with their monster IPOs, did not make it to the index as both of them were only listed after the review period.
