cbbc

The HKEx Callable Bull/Bear Contract (CBBC) market

[CBBC2009.doc] - 1 - Research & Corporate Development, HKEx 23 July 2009

THE HKEx CALLABLE BULL/BEAR CONTRACT (CBBC) MARKET*

By Research & Corporate Development Department

Launched in the HKEx securities market on 12 June 2006, Callable Bull/Bear Contracts (CBBCs) have seen rapid growth and have already become a large market segment.

So far, the issuance and trading of CBBCs has concentrated on a small number of underlying assets — mainly the local indices and a few single stocks — and the market has been dominated by a few issuers. Nonetheless, the issued number, amount and trading of CBBCs have surpassed those of derivative warrants in recent months. There may be room for the HKEx CBBC market to broaden in terms of asset coverage and issuer participation. CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................................2 1. BASIC FEATURES ........................................................................................................2 2. PRODUCTS OF SIMILAR NATURE IN OVERSEAS MARKETS ........................3 3. DEVELOPMENT OF THE HKEx CBBC MARKET ................................................5 4. PROFILE OF THE HKEx CBBC MARKET..............................................................9

4.1 Underlying asset types .............................................................................................9 4.2 Issued amount per CBBC.......................................................................................11 4.3 Maturity..................................................................................................................13 4.4 Single-stock CBBCs ..............................................................................................13 4.5 Issuers ....................................................................................................................14

CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................17 APPENDIX. Comparison between CBBCs, DWs, futures and options...........................18

* The analysis and framework of this report are developed by Research & Corporate Development (RCD); the

views and comments, if any, captured within the framework are generally those of market practitioners or other experts and not necessarily those of RCD or HKEx.



INTRODUCTION

Callable Bull/Bear contracts (CBBCs) are a type of structured product that tracks the performance of an underlying asset without requiring investors to pay the asset’s full price. The CBBC market has grown rapidly since it was launched in the HKEx securities market on 12 June 2006. From 24 at the end of 2006, the number of CBBCs increased 62-fold to 1,525 at the end of May 2009. The market share of CBBCs in the turnover of HKEx’s Main Board increased from 0.2% in 2006 to 12% during the first five months of 2009.

This paper provides a brief account on the basic features of CBBCs, a snapshot of similar products in overseas markets and an overview of the development of the HKEx CBBC market from its launch to the end of May 2009. It examines the profile of the CBBCs listed during the period in terms of underlying assets, issued amount, maturity and issuers.

1. BASIC FEATURES

CBBCs are issued either as Bull or Bear contracts with a fixed expiry date, allowing investors to take bullish or bearish positions on the underlying asset. The listing of CBBCs is governed by Chapter 15A of the Main Board Listing Rules on structured products — products that provide their holders with economic, legal or other interests in the underlying assets and hence derive their values by reference to those assets’ prices and values. The issuers of CBBCs are third parties, usually investment banks, independent of the underlying asset issuers (if any) and of HKEx.

CBBCs are issued with the condition that during their lifespan they will be called back (i.e. terminated) by the issuers if the price of the underlying asset reaches a level known as the “call price” specified in the listing document. Another price level of the underlying asset fixed at the time of issuance — the strike price — determines the residual value of the CBBC at expiry or at call. For Bull contracts, the call price must be equal to or above the strike price (for Bear contracts, equal to or below). If the call price is reached before expiry, the CBBC will be terminated immediately. The specified expiry date from the listing document will no longer be valid. Such event is referred to as a mandatory call event (MCE).

There are 2 categories of CBBCs — Category N and Category R. A Category N CBBC has no residual value at call, i.e. its call price equals its strike price. A Category R CBBC has residual value at expiry or at call, i.e. its call price is higher than its strike price for a bull contract (lower for a bear contract). Category N CBBCs are rare in Hong Kong –– up to the end of May 2009 only two Category N CBBCs were issued. All CBBCs listed in the HKEx securities market at the end of May 2009 were Category R.

CBBCs may be issued with a lifespan of 3 months to 5 years. They are traded on the HKEx securities market in the same manner as other securities market products and are settled in cash only. HKEx determines, in consultation with the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), the eligible assets for CBBC issuance; these include highly liquid stocks listed on the HKEx securities market, local and foreign indices, overseas stocks and contracts listed on reputable commodity and derivatives exchanges, and foreign currencies. Effective 17 April 2009, 29 Hong Kong stocks, 3 local indices and 4 overseas stock indices are eligible assets for CBBC issuance.



CBBCs and derivative warrants (DWs) in Hong Kong have similarities in their nature and their regulatory and trading arrangements 1 . Both are regarded as structured products under the Main Board Listing Rules. Both are issued by third parties, are traded on the HKEx securities market, are of a maturity of not more than 5 years, and have a Liquidity Provider arrangement (one per issue). Like cash-settled DWs, CBBCs are not subject to stamp duty. The contract parameters for both CBBCs and DWs will be adjusted for capital changes in the underlying security.

There are differences between CBBCs and DWs. CBBCs can have maturities as short as 3 months while the minimum maturity period for DWs is 6 months. The price movement of a CBBC tends to track closely the price of the underlying asset (i.e. delta2 close to one) while the price of a DW depends on various factors including the volatility of the underlying asset price and time to maturity. DWs do not have the mandatory call feature of CBBCs; standard warrants expire on their maturity dates. All CBBCs are cash-settled on expiry or on call while some DWs are physically settled or provide the option of physical delivery of the underlying asset on maturity or exercise. Effectively, a CBBC functions as a securitised futures contract with a stop-loss mechanism and no right or obligation to buy or sell the underlying asset; a DW functions as a securitised option contract with such right or obligation.

Like DWs, CBBCs issued so far are mainly on local stocks and indices (see Section 4 below). However, DWs have a wider coverage of eligible stocks (125 stocks, effective 27 April 2009).

2. PRODUCTS OF SIMILAR NATURE IN OVERSEAS MARKETS

A CBBC allows the holder to take a view on the price movement of the underlying asset with leverage, without the need for ownership of the underlying asset. Products of a similar nature traded in overseas markets are commonly known as contracts for difference (CFDs) or “knock-out”/“stop-loss” certificates. The short name “CFD” is used hereinafter to refer to this kind of product. It is now available under various names in many markets including the UK, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and South Africa 3 . Due to restrictions imposed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on over-the-counter (OTC) financial instruments, CFDs are not permitted in the US4.

CFDs originated in the UK in early 1990s, offering a tax-efficient way of obtaining economic exposure to an underlying instrument since they are exempt from UK stamp duty (0.5%). Now, CFDs are traded around the world mainly in the OTC market, where trading can take place round the clock on the electronic trading platforms of the CFD providers. OTC CFDs are mainly traded on margin and can have flexible contract designs to suit the needs of different investors. They can be issued on a wide range of

1 Please refer to the article, The Profile of Derivative Warrants listed in Hong Kong, in the October 2006

“Exchange” for details about DWs in Hong Kong. 2 Delta is the ratio of the change in the price of a derivative relative to that in the underlying asset. It is

sometimes referred to as the “hedge ratio”. 3 Reuters Financial Glossary (http://glossary.reuters.com/index.php/Contract_for_Difference), viewed on 17

March 2009. 4 Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contract_for_difference), viewed on 24 March 2009.



underlying assets, including overseas equities and indices, which may not be directly accessible by investors. CFDs can also be issued on non-financial and non-commodity underlying assets, e.g. the electricity CFDs of Nord Pool (a Nordic power exchange)5.

The UK has a big OTC market for CFDs. The trading volume of CFDs in the UK has been growing rapidly — it was estimated that there were over 5 million transactions in the UK in 20076 and about 30% of exchange equity trades were in some way driven by CFD transactions referenced to the underlying shares7.

While OTC CFDs offer flexibility to investors, they may arouse regulatory concern about market transparency. In the UK, there has been so-called secret stake-building through CFDs by potential acquirers of listed companies. For example, a potential acquirer can target a firm by entering into a CFD with a bank, which as the CFD writer will buy the target’s equity as a hedge. The CFD does not give the holder ownership of the referenced shares or voting rights and usually does not grant any right to take delivery of the shares in place of cash settlement at expiry of the CFD. Under the pre-existing UK regulatory regime, such CFD position did not have to be disclosed as the disclosure requirements were mainly applicable to financial instruments with explicit rights to the underlying shares or physical delivery on expiry. However, in practice when the acquirer closes a large CFD position, the bank will have a strong incentive to sell the shares to the CFD holder despite the lack of a formal agreement because a large equity position may otherwise be difficult to unwind. In this way, the acquirer is suddenly revealed as having taken up a large stake in a listed company – ie there is no prior disclosure as would be required in a normal stake-building process. In view of this problem, the UK FSA has tightened the disclosure requirements for derivatives. From 1 June 2009, investor holdings of CFDs in a stock have to comply with new disclosure rules in the same way as shareholdings8.

In the light of the popularity of CFDs among investors, many overseas exchanges started to offer exchange trading in similar instruments. The London Stock Exchange (LSE) currently lists stop-loss warrants (otherwise known as listed CFDs) pioneered by Société Générale (SG) as SG Turbos in 20019. Like CFDs, stop-loss warrants allow investors to take a leveraged bullish or bearish view on the underlying asset, with an inbuilt stop-loss mechanism like the mandatory call feature of Hong Kong CBBCs. Examples of exchanges offering similar products include OMX Nordic Exchange, the Vienna Stock Exchange (VSE), Scoach (a structured products trading joint venture of Deutsche Börse (DB) and the Swiss SIX Group, which is the operator of SIX Swiss Exchange), the Nordic Derivatives Market (NDM) and the Stuttgart Stock Exchange. These products are known as knock-out warrants/certificates, leverage certificates or simply knockouts or turbos.

5 Power derivatives – NordPool, Nord Pool website (http://www.nordpool.com/en/asa/Markets/Power-

derivatives/), viewed on 6 May 2009. 6 Leaflet on Exchange Traded CFDs of London Stock Exchange, LSE website, viewed on 17 March 2009. 7 Consultation Paper CP07/20: Disclosure of Contracts for Difference, UK FSA, viewed on 8 May 2009. 8 FSA brings forward CFD rule, FT.com (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a6928c0a-085c-11de-8a33-

0000779fd2ac.html), 4 March 2009. 9 London Stock Exchange – Covered warrants, LSE website (http://www.londonstockexchange.com/en-

gb/pricesnews/prices/coveredwarrants/), viewed on 18-24 March 2009; Société Générale’s website for SG Turbo trading (http://www.sgturbos.co.uk), viewed on 24 March 2009.



In some markets, these CFD-type products have seen quite active trading. In 2008, knock-out warrants on OMX Nordic Exchange had a trading value of US$2.3 billion, constituting 59% of trading in all warrants and 57% of trading in all structured products on the exchange10. In the same year, knock-out products on Scoach had a trading value of US$4 billion, constituting 49% of trading in all leveraged products and 11% of trading in all structured products on the exchange11. In comparison, CBBCs on HKEx had a much higher trading value of US$133 billion in 2008 but constituted only 23% of the combined trading value of DWs and CBBCs.

The OTC CFDs and the knock-out products on exchanges mentioned above are issued by third parties. In contrast to these, the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) was the first exchange to offer standardised exchange-traded CFDs — ASX Listed CFDs — in November 200712. The currently available underlying assets of the ASX CFDs are equities, indices, foreign currencies and commodities. Unlike CBBCs in Hong Kong, the market for ASX Listed CFDs is operated by the Sydney Futures Exchange (SFE), an ASX subsidiary, separate from the ASX equity market. In fact, ASX Listed CFDs are operated in a similar manner to futures products on ASX — they are standardised contracts; they do not have an expiry date (a position is closed only by trading the opposite side of the position); and initial margins (upon opening a contract) and variation margins (upon adverse price movements) are applied. In addition, traders can convert their ASX Equity CFD position into stocks. CBBCs in Hong Kong have contract specifications determined by the issuer, are cash-settled only, and are traded as securities market products without margin requirements. In the 14 months from launch to 2 January 2009, there were a total of 93,987 transactions in the exchange-traded CFD market segment in Australia13.

The LSE had also planned to launch its own CFD service in mid-2009. The plan was revealed in the beginning of 2008 and was fleshed out later to offer Exchange-Traded CFDs (ETcfds) based on FTSE 100 stocks. The planned service involved standardised contracts, a combined order book for ETcfds and the underlying equities and central clearing with netting and central margining. The plan was aborted by the LSE because of deteriorating global market condition that impaired the development capacity of the brokers14.

3. DEVELOPMENT OF THE HKEx CBBC MARKET

At the end of May 2009, HKEx listed 1,525 CBBCs, constituting 28% of the total number of its listed securities (see Figure 1). Despite mandatory call events impacting a significant proportion of CBBCs, the month-end number of listed CBBCs has grown at a fast pace (see Figure 2). The rapid growth of this market segment is also apparent

10 Based on monthly turnover statistics of warrants and certificates of OMX Nordic Exchange

(http://www.omxnordicexchange.com), viewed on 15 May 2009. 11 Based on monthly turnover statistics of Scoach (http://www.scoach.de), viewed on 15 May 2009. 12 Information about ASX Listed CFDs, ASX website (http://www.asx.com.au/products/cfds/index.htm),

viewed on 18 March 2009. 13 ASX Listed CFD Market Update – 02 January 2009, ASX website

(http://www.asx.com.au/products/cfds/market_update/20090102.htm), viewed on 18 March 2009. 14 LSE Drops Plan to Offer CFD, Stock Trading on Same Platform, Bloomberg.com, 2 April 2009, viewed on 3

April 2009.



from the growing monthly number and amount issued of newly listed CBBCs during the study period, especially since September 2008. (See Figures 3 and 4.)

Figure 1. Number of listed securities by type on HKEx securities market (Main Board) (as at 31 May 2009)

Debt securities167 (3%)

Equity warrants32 (1%)

Unit trusts38 (1%)

CBBCs1,525 (28%)

Equities1,101 (20%)

Derivative warrants2,640 (48%)

Total no. of securities: 5,503

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding

Figure 2. Month-end number of listed CBBCs by bull/bear type

(Jun 2006 - May 2009)

58 66 96 110 134 108 166291 298

384516

745 778 800915 960

789660

506

78 61 6581 80 152

184

162268

220

243

91

290

514450

544724

8501,019

(11)(18)(27)(35)(34)(41)(24)(37)(44)(41)(39)(35)(37)(42)(50)(62)(96)(119)(131)(149)(191)(214)(260)

(350)(453)

(566)(604)

(759)(836)

(1,510)

(1,068)

(1,365)

(1,525)(1,513)(1,504)

(1,314)

0

200

400

600

800

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Bear Bull

( ) Total b



Figure 3. Monthly number of newly listed CBBCs by bull/bear type and DWs against month-end HSI level (Jun 2006 - May 2009)

30 54 49 43 39 48 81158174139

238307304300302

238314320

428

32 69 56 87 84106

153228

337357330

192

190

392312

336

(11)(8)(13) (8) (6)(27)(10)(22)(11)(12)(4) (8)(17)(21)(41)(49)(86)(77)

(43)

(112)(85)

(126)(132)(187)

(303)

(644) (630)

(494)

(428)

(706)

(632)

(764)

400

164

(661)(638)

(311)

(402)

144

224205

287

451

521

346318

396

484

561501

374

261219205

176188249

349391

424

274

476

362

322350

868

632612

1,020

675

507

240

313

231

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leve

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CBBCs (Bull)CBBCs (Bear)DWsMonth-end HSI level

( ) Total number of CBBCs

Figure 4. Monthly amount issued* of CBBCs by bull/bear type and DWs

against month-end HSI level (Jun 2006 - May 2009) 2009)

6 6 923 19 13 21

319 8

13 10 11

15 1328 20

21

(.9)(.4)(.6)(.3)(.4) (1) (.4)(.9)(.6)(.5)(.2)(.4)(.8) (1) (3) (4) (7) (8) (5)(14)(12)

(19)(16)(20)

(41)

(30)

(64)(71)

(64)

(51)

(39)(38)

(52)(44)

(52)

24 25 23 24 312529

25

3540

43

2318

17

(42)

89

25171413

20

2023

62

59

48

3226

34

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24182117

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CBBCs (Bull)CBBCs (Bear)DWsMonth-end HSI level

( ) Total amount issued of CBBCs

* Includes further issuance in the month of prior-issued CBBCs/DWs.

A total of 7,729 CBBCs were issued during the 3 years from launch to 31 May 2009 with a total issued amount of HK$704 billion. During the study period, slightly more CBBCs were issued as bull contracts (52% by number and amount issued) than as bear contracts, mostly in 2008 when the market was bearish. (See Table 1.)



Table 1. Annual amount issued* and number of new issues of DWs and bull/bear CBBCs (2006-2009)

CBBCs DWs* Bull Bear Total

Year

No. of new

issues

Amount issued

(HK$m)

No. of new

issues

Amount issued

(HK$m)

No. of new

issues

Amount issued

(HK$m)

No. of new

issues

Amount issued

(HK$m) 06-12/2006 1,855 171,166 32 1,797 51 2,281 83 4,078

2007 6,312 791,311 168 12,622 223 18,858 391 31,480 2008 4,822 555,887 2,371 251,134 1,860 192,166 4,231 443,300

01-05/2009 1,167 89,335 1,422 97,982 1,602 127,021 3,024 225,003 Total 14,156 1,607,698 3,993 363,536 3,736 340,326 7,729 703,862

* Include further issuance Note: Amount issued may not add up to total due to rounding

In terms of number and amount issued, CBBCs surpassed DWs from August 2008 (see Figures 3 and 4). During the study period, CBBC issues represented in aggregate 55% of the number and 44% of the amount of DW issues. The ratio of CBBC to DW issues rose from 4% by number and 2% by amount issued in the seven months of 2006 to 250% by number and by amount issued in the first five months of 2009. In terms of turnover value, the monthly market share of CBBC turnover climbed high during 2008 and has fluctuated at high levels since September 2008 and the collapse of Lehman Brothers which triggered the global financial crisis. Meanwhile, the monthly market share of DW turnover was on a downward trend from early 2008 until October 2008 when it fell below that of CBBC turnover. It then fluctuated thereafter at lower levels than CBBCs. (See Figure 5.)

Figure 5. Monthly market share of CBBCs and DWs in Main Board (MB) turnover value (Jun 2006 - May 2009)

.0%.3%.3%.4%.2%.2%.2%.1%.2%.1%.1%.2%.1%.2%.4%.2%.3%.8%.7%1.0%1% 2% 2%4%

6%

9%

14%13%

12%

16%

12%13%

9%

21%

27%25%

24%

22%20%

21%20%20%

17%

15%

20%

18%

21%

23%

27%29%

27%

29%

17%

12%

9%

12%

14%

10%10%9%

21%

26%27%

26%24%

22%20%

21%20%20%

18%16%

20%20%

18%

21%

24%

28%30%

28%

31%

26%24%24%

26%27%

26%

22%24%

29%

22%22%

19%

10%

9%

12%10%

15%

9%

25%24%

20%

17%

25%

20%19%

20%

28%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

06/20

06

07/20

06

08/20

06

09/20

06

10/20

06

11/20

06

12/20

06

01/20

07

02/20

07

03/20

07

04/20

07

05/20

07

06/20

07

07/20

07

08/20

07

09/20

07

10/20

07

11/20

07

12/20

07

01/20

08

02/20

08

03/20

08

04/20

08

05/20

08

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08

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08

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08

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08

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08

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01/20

09

02/20

09

03/20

09

04/20

09

05/20

09

CBBCs DWs DWs + CBBCs



4. PROFILE OF THE HKEx CBBC MARKET

4.1 Underlying asset types

The 7,729 CBBCs issued during June 2006 to May 2009 were based on three major types of assets — single stocks, indices and ETFs. (See Figure 6.)

Figure 6. CBBCs issued by underlying asset type (12 Jun 2006 - 31 May 2009)

(a) By number

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs)

273 (4%)

Foreign indices61 (1%)

Hang Seng China Enterprises Index (HSCEI)

905 (12%)

Single stocks2,207 (29%)

Hang Seng Index (HSI)

4,283 (55%)

Total no. of CBBCs: 7,729● Hong Kong stocks: 715 (9%)● H shares: 1,114 (14%)● Red chips: 378 (5%)

● Dow Jones Industrial ● Average (DJIA): 37 (0.5%)● NASDAQ-100 Index● (NQ100): 9 (0.1%)● Nikkei 225 Stock Average● Index (N225): 15 (0.2%)

(b) By amount issued

Hang Seng China Enterprises Index (HSCEI)

HK$94,161m (13%) Hang Seng Index (HSI)

HK$435,104m (62%)

Single stocksHK$149,246m (21%)

Foreign indicesHK$6,048m (1%)

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs)

HK$19,303m (3%)

Total amount issued of CBBCs: HK$703,862m

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% or sub-total due to rounding.



CBBCs on Hang Seng Index (HSI) were the most popular — 4,283 CBBCs (55% by number) with a total amount issued of HK$435 billion (62%). They were followed by single-stock CBBCs — 29% by number and 21% by amount issued. Hang Seng China Enterprises Index (HSCEI) CBBCs were also popular — 12% by number and 13% by amount issued. CBBCs on foreign indices were first offered in 2007 and the number of issues grew from 3 in 2007 to 37 in 2008 and 21 in 2009 up to May. Three major foreign indices were involved — Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), NASDAQ-100 Index (NQ100) and Nikkei 225 Stock Average Index (N225). CBBCs on ETFs were first issued in 2008, involving only one ETF which is the iShares FTSE/Xinhua A50 China Tracker. During the study period, both single-stock and index CBBCs experienced tremendous growth by number and amount issued. (See Figure 7.)

Figure 7. Yearly new issues of CBBCs by underlying asset type (2006-2009)

(a) By number

383

3,070

1,718

1,021

1,173

(83)(391)

(3,024)

78

133

140(4,231)

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

4,000

4,500

Jun-Dec 2006 2007 2008 Jan-May 2009

No.

of i

ssue

s

Index Single-stock ETF

( ) Total

(b) By amount issued

31

352

148

80

68

(4)(32)

(225)8

11(443)

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

500

Jun-Dec 2006 2007 2008 Jan-May 2009

Am

ount

issu

ed (H

K$

Bil)

Index Single-stock ETF

( ) Total

Note: Amount issued may not add up to total due to rounding.



The trading of CBBCs was dominated by index CBBCs, mostly CBBCs on the HSI. The share of CBBCs on HSI in the turnover of all CBBCs increased from 56% in 2006 to 80% in 2009 up to May while that of single-stock CBBCs dropped from 35% in 2006 to 17% in 2009 up to May. (See Figure 8.)

Figure 8. Yearly percentage share in turnover value of CBBCs by underlying asset type (12 Jun 2006 - 31 May 2009)

6.5% (HK$67,194m)

34.9%(HK$3,951m)

16.6%(HK$108,517m)

89.2%(HK$926,975m)

74.5%(HK$53,180m)

55.7%(HK$6,315m) 80.0%

(HK$521,697m)

HSCEI0.5% (HK$3,181m)

HSCEI3.3% (HK$34,545m)

25.1%(HK$17,905m)

9.4%(HK$1,070m)

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Jun-Dec 2006 2007 2008 Jan-May 2009

Single-stock Hang Seng Index (HSI) Hang Seng China Enterprises Index (HSCEI) Foreign indices Exchange-traded funds

Foreign indices0.2% (HK$143m)

Single-stock0.2% (HK$152m)

ETFs1.0% (HK$10,235m)


ETFs2.9% (HK$18,731m)


Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

4.2 Issued amount per CBBC

The expected market capitalisation (i.e. value or amount issued) of a CBBC must normally be at least HK$10 million as required by the Main Board Listing Rules. The majority of the CBBCs issued (about 52% by number) during the study period had an issue size of HK$75 million or less (see Figure 9). The average amount issued per CBBC increased from HK$49 million in 2006 to HK$105 million in 2008 and decreased to HK$74 million in 2009 up to May. However, it has to be noted that nearly 40% of CBBCs issued during the study period were issued in the first five months of 2009. Relatively recent new issues might have further issuance beyond the study period which would impact the foregoing statistics. (See Figure 10.)



Figure 9. Number of issues by amount issued per CBBC (12 Jun 2006 - 31 May 2009)

1,9642,109

1,081

243

465

1,867

(25%) (27%)

(14%)

(24%)

(3%)(6%)

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

1,600

1,800

2,000

2,200

2,400

2,600

2,800

<=$50m >$50m - $75m >$75m - $100m >$100m - $125m >$125m - $150m >$150mAmount issued per CBBC

No.

of i

ssue

sTotal no. of issues: 7,729

( ) % of total number

Notes: - The amount issued of a CBBC includes further issuance within the study period. - Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

Figure 10. Statistics on amount issued per CBBC per year

(12 Jun 2006 - 31 May 2009)

243

440

580600

4981

105

25 10

7475100

6839

10100

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

Jun-Dec 2006 2007 2008 Jan-May 2009

Am

ount

issu

ed p

er C

BB

C (H

K$

Mil)

MaximumMeanMedianMinimum

Note: The amount issued of a CBBC includes further issuance within the study period.

The average amount issued per CBBC during the study period was HK$91 million. CBBCs on the HSI had the widest range of issued amount — from HK$10 million to $600 million. CBBCs on local indices (HSCEI and HSI) were on average larger in issued amount than CBBCs on single stocks or ETFs. (See Table 2.)



Table 2. Amount issued per CBBC by underlying asset type (12 Jun 2006 - 31 May 2009)

Amount issued per CBBC (HK$m) Underlying asset

No. of CBBCs Min Max Mean Median

Hang Seng Index (HSI) 4,283 10 600 102 98 Single stocks 2,207 20 386 68 54 Hang Seng China Enterprises Index (HSCEI) 905 13 565 104 100 Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) 273 20 330 71 75 Foreign indices 61 10 435 99 56 Overall 7,729 10 600 91 75

4.3 Maturity

The Listing Rules permit the maturity of a CBBC to range from 3 months to 5 years. Almost all CBBCs issued during the study period expired within a year after listing. More than half (53%) expired in 7 to 9 months. (See Figure 11.)

Figure 11. Number of CBBCs by maturity at issue (12 Jun 2006 - 31 May 2009)

1,663

2,122

19315

1,550

1,987

152 47

3,213

4,109

34562

(5%)

(53%)(42%)

(4%)

(53%)(41%)

(4%)

(53%)

(42%)

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

4,000

4,500

<= 6 months 7 - 9 months 10 - 12 months > 1 yearMaturity*

No.

of i

ssue

s

BullBearTotal

( ) In percentage of the respective category

* Counting in full months. Days in excess of the last full month were not counted. Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

4.4 Single-stock CBBCs

During June 2006 to May 2009 a total of 2,207 CBBCs were issued on 34 single stocks — 7 Hong Kong stocks, 22 H shares and 5 red chips. CBBCs on H shares constituted the most by number of issues (50%), amount issued (55%) and turnover value (53%). Although there were fewer CBBCs on red chips than on Hong Kong stocks by number and amount issued, their turnover was close to that of CBBCs on Hong Kong stocks. (See Table 3.)

China Life Insurance Co. Ltd. was the most popular underlying stock among single-stock CBBCs in terms of number (15%), amount issued (21%) and turnover value (27%). The top 10 underlying stocks had in aggregate the dominating shares of 78%,



80% and 90% respectively in terms of number of CBBC issues, amount issued and turnover value. (See Table 4.)

Table 3. Single-stock CBBCs by stock type (12 Jun 2006 – 31 May 2009)

No. of underlying stocks involved No. of issues Amount issued Turnover value

Underlying stock type No. %

share No. %

share HK$m %

share HK$m %

share Hong Kong stocks 7 21% 715 32% 43,091 29% 42,762 24% H shares 22 65% 1,114 50% 82,130 55% 94,650 53% Red chips 5 15% 378 17% 24,026 16% 42,402 24% Total 34 100% 2,207 100% 149,246 100% 179,814 100% Note: Percentages may not add up to 100 per cent due to rounding.

Table 4. The most popular underlying stocks of single-stock CBBCs (12 Jun 2006 - 31 May 2009)

(a) By number (b) By amount issued

Rank Stock name

No. of issues

% of total Stock name

Amount issued

(HK$m) % of total

1 China Life Insurance Co. Ltd. 340 15.41% China Life Insurance Co. Ltd. 31,692 21.24%

2 HSBC Holdings plc 272 12.32% HSBC Holdings plc 17,123 11.47%

3 Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd. 268 12.14% Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd. 16,850 11.29%

4 China Mobile Ltd. 226 10.24% China Mobile Ltd. 15,427 10.34%

5 PetroChina Co. Ltd. 144 6.52% PetroChina Co. Ltd. 10,344 6.93%

6 CNOOC Ltd. 126 5.71% CNOOC Ltd. 7,452 4.99%

7 China Construction Bank Corporation 107 4.85% China Construction Bank Corporation 6,101 4.09%

8 China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation 82 3.72% China Merchants Bank Co., Ltd. 5,561 3.73%

9 Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. 81 3.67% Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. 5,155 3.45%

10 China Merchants Bank Co., Ltd. 77 3.49% China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation 4,200 2.81%

Total for top 10 1,723 78.07% Total for top 10 119,905 80.34%

(c) By turnover value Rank Stock name

Turnover (HK$m)

% of total

1 China Life Insurance Co. Ltd. 49,378 27.46%

2 China Mobile Ltd. 36,154 20.11%

3 Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd. 19,586 10.89%

4 HSBC Holdings plc 17,715 9.85%

5 China Construction Bank Corporation 11,659 6.48%

6 PetroChina Co. Ltd. 8,222 4.57%

7 CNOOC Ltd. 5,811 3.23%

8 Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. 4,949 2.75%

9 Ping An Insurance (Group) Co. of China Ltd. 4,637 2.58%

10 China Merchants Bank Co., Ltd. 4,588 2.55%

Total for top 10 162,699 90.47%

Hong Kong stocks H shares Red chips

Note: Numbers may not add up to total due to rounding.

4.5 Issuers

There were totally 12 issuers of CBBCs during the study period. Eleven of them issued CBBCs on indices; 10 issuers issued CBBCs on single stocks; and 9 issuers issued CBBCs on ETFs. The HSI was the most popular underlying asset for CBBC –– used by 11 issuers. Only 2 issuers issued CBBCs on foreign indices. (See Table 5.)



The issuance of CBBCs was dominated by 3 issuers (about 68% by number and 76% by amount issued) – UBS AG, Deutsche Bank AG and SGA Société Générale Acceptance N.V. (see Table 6). In terms of number and amount issued, UBS was the most active issuer for single-stock CBBCs (and for each of the Hong Kong stocks, H shares and red chips), index CBBCs (and for each of the HSI and the HSCEI), and CBBCs on ETFs. However, it did not issue any CBBCs on foreign indices. (See Tables 7, 8 and 9.)

Table 5. Number of CBBC issuers by underlying asset type (12 Jun 2006 - 31 May 2009)

Underlying asset type No. of issuers Non-Mainland-related Hong Kong stocks 10

H shares 8 Mainland-related Red chips 8

Single stocks

Single stocks total 10 Hang Seng Index (HSI) 11 Hong Kong indices Hang Seng China Enterprises Index (HSCEI) 8 Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) 1 NASDAQ-100 Index (NQ100) 1 Foreign indices Nikkei 225 Index (N225) 2

Indices

Indices total 11 Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) 9 Overall 12

Table 6. Ranking of issuers by number and amount issued of all CBBCs

(12 Jun 2006 - 31 May 2009)

By number By amount issued

Issuer name RankNo. of issues

% of total Rank HK$mil

% of total

UBS AG 1 3,129 40.5% 1 356,617 50.7% Deutsche Bank AG 2 1,093 14.1% 2 93,007 13.2% SGA Société Générale Acceptance N.V. 3 1,049 13.6% 3 81,806 11.6% KBC Financial Products International Ltd. 4 781 10.1% 4 62,901 8.9% ABN AMRO Bank N.V. 5 721 9.3% 5 44,734 6.4% BNP Paribas Arbitrage Issuance B.V. 6 387 5.0% 6 27,441 3.9% Goldman Sachs Structured Products (Asia) Ltd. 7 179 2.3% 8 8,786 1.2% Coöperatieve Centrale Raiffeisen-Boerenleenbank B.A. 8 170 2.2% 9 6,055 0.9% Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd. 9 148 1.9% 7 17,215 2.4% Macquarie Bank Ltd. 10 64 0.8% 10 4,477 0.6% Barclays Bank plc 11 7 0.1% 11 773 0.1% BOCI Asia Ltd. 12 1 0.0% 12 50 0.0% Total 7,729 100% 703,862 100% Note: Numbers may not add up to total or 100% due to rounding.



Table 7. Ranking of issuers by number and amount issued of single-stock CBBCs (12 Jun 2006 - 31 May 2009)




% of total

UBS AG 1 1,034 46.9% 1 80,157 53.7% SGA Société Générale Acceptance N.V. 2 471 21.3% 2 29,520 19.8% Deutsche Bank AG 3 283 12.8% 4 15,002 10.1% KBC Financial Products International Ltd. 4 214 9.7% 3 15,305 10.3% BNP Paribas Arbitrage Issuance B.V. 5 88 4.0% 5 4,525 3.0% ABN AMRO Bank N.V. 6 62 2.8% 6 2,636 1.8% Coöperatieve Centrale Raiffeisen-Boerenleenbank B.A. 7 30 1.4% 7 1,036 0.7% Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd. 8 21 1.0% 8 889 0.6% Macquarie Bank Ltd. 9 3 0.1% 9 125 0.1% BOCI Asia Ltd. 10 1 0.0% 10 50 0.0% Total 2,207 100% 149,245 100% Note: Numbers may not add up to total or 100% due to rounding.

Table 8. Ranking of issuers by number and amount issued of index CBBCs

(12 Jun 2006 - 31 May 2009)




% of total

UBS AG 1 2,004 38.2% 1 268,616 50.2% Deutsche Bank AG 2 762 14.5% 2 75,381 14.1% ABN AMRO Bank N.V. 3 638 12.2% 5 41,255 7.7% KBC Financial Products International Ltd. 4 543 10.3% 4 45,756 8.5% SGA Société Générale Acceptance N.V. 5 533 10.2% 3 48,848 9.1% BNP Paribas Arbitrage Issuance B.V. 6 286 5.4% 6 22,391 4.2% Goldman Sachs Structured Products (Asia) Ltd. 7 179 3.4% 8 8,786 1.6% Coöperatieve Centrale Raiffeisen-Boerenleenbank B.A. 8 126 2.4% 9 4,556 0.9% Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd. 9 112 2.1% 7 14,749 2.8% Macquarie Bank Ltd. 10 59 1.1% 10 4,201 0.8% Barclays Bank plc 11 7 0.1% 11 773 0.1% Total 5,249 100% 535,312 100% Note: Numbers may not add up to total or 100% due to rounding.



Table 9. Ranking of issuers by number and amount issued of ETF CBBCs (12 Jun 2006 - 31 May 2009)




% of total

UBS AG 1 91 33.3% 1 7,844 40.6% Deutsche Bank AG 2 48 17.6% 3 2,624 13.6% SGA Société Générale Acceptance N.V. 3 45 16.5% 2 3,438 17.8% KBC Financial Products International Ltd. 4 24 8.8% 4 1,840 9.5% ABN AMRO Bank N.V. 5 21 7.7% 6 843 4.4% Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd. 6 15 5.5% 5 1,577 8.2% Coöperatieve Centrale Raiffeisen-Boerenleenbank B.A. 7 14 5.1% 8 463 2.4% BNP Paribas Arbitrage Issuance B.V. 8 13 4.8% 7 525 2.7% Macquarie Bank Ltd. 9 2 0.7% 9 150 0.8% Total 273 100% 19,304 100% Note: Numbers may not add up to total or 100% due to rounding.

CONCLUSION

The HKEx CBBC market has experienced strong growth since its launch in June 2006. It now constitutes a significant segment of the HKEx securities market in terms of number of issues and turnover value. Single stock and local stock indices are popular underlying assets for CBBCs. CBBCs on the HSI are by far the most popular in terms of number of issues, amount issued and trading value. CBBCs on Mainland-related stocks and indices are also popular. However, the CBBC issuance market is dominated by a few issuers. Since the market is currently quite concentrated in terms of issuers and underlying asset types, there may be room for the market to broaden in these respects.



APPENDIX. Comparison between CBBCs, DWs, futures and options

CBBCs DWs Futures & options Issuer Eligible issuers Standard products of HKEx Trading platform AMS/3 of HKEx securities market HKATS of HKEx derivatives market Trading currency Either HK dollars or US dollars US dollars for gold futures / HK dollars for others Minimum issuance size and issue price

Minimum size HK$10 million and minimum issue price HK$0.25 per unit

Not applicable

Response to price movement in underlying asset

Changes in value by approximately the same amount as the underlying asset

Depends on various factors

• Futures: Changes in value by approximately the same amount as the underlying asset.

• Options: Depends on various factors

Implied volatility Insignificant to pricing Affects pricing Affects pricing of options but not futures Funding costs The formula for

calculating funding costs is specified in the listing document

The funding costs are built into the premium of the DW

The funding costs (cost of carry) are built into pricing

Duration 3 months to 5 years 6 months to 5 years Contract months as specified by HKEx (1 month to 3.5 years)

Capital adjustment For CBBC on Hong Kong-listed stocks, adjustments follow prevailing principles of stock futures/stock options, where applicable.

As stated in the listing documents issued by the issuers; usually no adjustment for ordinary dividends. Some issuers may adjust for special dividends, some may not.

Usually no adjustment for ordinary dividends; standard capital adjustment procedures are stated in the exchange rules for common corporate actions. Special corporate actions will be considered on a case by case basis in consultation with the SFC.

Maximum loss Limited to the amount invested. Limited to the premium traded for long option positions. For futures and short options positions, losses are subject to market movements and depend on size of the contract traded.

Mandatory call Early termination when the underlying asset's price hits the Call Price.

Standard (i.e. non-exotic) DWs will not be terminated early.

• Futures and index options: No early termination. • Stock options: Subject to early exercise of option

holders; random assignment upon option exercise. Settlement price/level at expiry

• Stock CBBCs: closing price of the underlying on last trading day.

• Index CBBCs: index level for settling the corresponding index future contract of the same expiry month.

• Others: refer to the listing document.

• Stock DWs: five days average closing price before expiry day.

• Index DWs: index level for settling the corresponding index future contract of the same expiry month if the DW and futures contract have the same expiry day.

• Others: refer to the listing documents for DWs.

• Stock options: physical delivery of underlying shares on stock option exercise with payment of exercise price.

• Stock futures: an average based on the mid-points of the best bid and best ask taken at five-minute intervals and the closing price on the last trading day.

• Index futures/options: an average based on 5-minute quotation and the closing index on the last trading day.

• HIBOR futures: Hong Kong Association of Banks interest settlement rate on the last trading day.

• EFN futures: volume-weighted average traded price during 5-minute intervals on last trading day.

• Gold futures: London gold fixing on last trading day

Short position Holding bear contracts Holding put warrants Yes Margin requirement

No Yes

Underlying assets Effective 17 Apr 2009: 29 Hong Kong-listed stocks (including one ETF); 3 local indices; 4 foreign indices

Effective 27 Apr 2009: 125 Hong Kong-listed stocks for single-stock warrants (including 7 ETFs, 1 REIT); 6 local indices; 18 foreign indices (including non-equity indices); 6 commodities; 5 currencies

As at the end of May 2009: 2 local indices; 42 stocks for stock futures; 49 stocks for stock options; Hong Kong Interbank Offered Rate (HIBOR); Exchange Fund Note (EFN); Gold

* * *

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