HKEX Explores Merging GEM into Main Board, Proposes New Chapter 18D
Nashnova编辑部
HKEX is studying a plan to abolish GEM as a standalone board and fold small-cap listings into a new Chapter 18D under the Main Board — a public consultation is expected before year-end, potentially ending Hong Kong's two-board structure.
What went wrong with GEM?
GEM was designed to help small and mid-sized companies list and raise capital. In practice, trading volume is vanishingly thin and new listings have dried up.
In plain terms = the "second board" still exists on paper, but almost no company wants to list there and almost no investor wants to trade there.
A person familiar with the matter put it bluntly: the board "has not been effective in helping SMEs go public."
What is the Chapter 18D approach?
HKEX plans to add Chapter 18D to its listing rules, giving SMEs a dedicated pathway within the Main Board framework instead of keeping them on GEM.
This means → GEM would cease to exist as a separate board. Smaller companies and large caps would share the "Main Board" banner but enter through different listing thresholds.
The "dedicated chapter" model has been used three times before: Chapter 18A for pre-revenue biotech, Chapter 18B for SPACs, and Chapter 18C for large pre-revenue tech firms. Chapter 18D follows the same logic.
What does this mean for Hong Kong's market structure?
If the plan goes through, Hong Kong's long-standing Main Board + GEM dual-board structure would be scrapped, replaced by a single board with multiple dedicated chapters.
This reflects HKEX's conclusion: rather than propping up a moribund second board, it is better to bring SMEs under the Main Board umbrella and differentiate through chapter-specific thresholds.
Put simply = the listing bar is not being lowered — the architecture is being reorganized. Instead of "opening a separate market," the exchange would "open a separate door within the same market."
Where does the plan stand now?
Sources say a public consultation is expected before year-end, as the centrepiece of HKEX's second phase of listing-regime reform.
The consultation outcome and the regulators' final stance will determine whether reform actually proceeds — the plan is still at the "exploration" stage, not a done deal.
This means → there is a long road from consultation to implementation. The immediate focus for market participants is the specific threshold design in the consultation paper.
市场有风险，内容仅供研究参考，不构成投资建议。