UBS Warburg is looking to become the first house in Hong Kong to list equity-linked notes on the Hong Kong exchange by year-end. Chi-Won Yoon, managing director of equity risk management in Hong Kong, said listing the product will lead to greater transparency and will also open it up to retail clients.
Yoon predicted that a listed equity-linked note market could rival the size of the over-the-counter market in Hong Kong, which is around HKD10-15 billion (USD1.2-1.9 billion). The notes will likely range between HKD5-10,000.
It is launching the product after several months of discussions with the regulator, the Securities and Futures Commission, according to Yoon. He added, the revised guidelines for the Hong Kong warrant market have made this product possible (DW, 1/20).Ernest Lau, spokesman at the SFC in Hong Kong, declined comment on the talks.
