Hong Kong firms allowed to trade directly on London Stock Exchange

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission has granted the London Stock Exchange a license to accept Hong Kong-based financial firms as direct members able to exchange and trade London-listed stocks and fixed-income products, South China Morning Post reported, citing a statement from the London exchange’s chief executive, Alexander Justham. According to the commission, the license only pertains to firms it has licensed in Hong Kong, and bars the London bourse from allowing Hong Kong investors to trade any of its products that lack a central counterparty service. Justham said his exchange had also signed a memorandum of understanding with four mainland financial firms to get more Chinese companies to list in London.