Time running out for Hong Kong-listed firms to get women on board: HKEX’s Bonnie Chan

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At least 250 Hong Kong-listed companies do not have at least one woman on their boards despite the compliance deadline just a month away

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HKEX CEO Bonnie Chan Yiting said companies are making progress on appointing women to their boards. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Mia Castagnone

Published: 6:01pm, 27 Nov 2024Updated: 7:30pm, 27 Nov 2024

Some 250 listed companies in Hong Kong have yet to add at least one woman to their boards even as a deadline to comply with the exchange’s rules is only a month away, according to Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX).

“The deadline is the end of this year, so the next few weeks will be very busy for my team to call the remaining non-compliant companies to make sure that they bring women on to their boards,” CEO Bonnie Chan Yiting said on Wednesday.

The compliance rate, however, has significantly improved since the requirment was introduced in 2022, she said, noting that the number of Hong Kong-listed companies with an all-male board has decreased by nearly three quarters.

In 2022, only 16 per cent of company directors were women, and 11 per cent in 2018.

“Through two years of encouragement and coaching, that [non-compliant] number has now dropped to about 250 [from 800],” Chan said at the Greater Bay Area Fintech Talent Summit, organised by Bloomberg, the Hong Kong United Youth Association and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, the operator of the local stock exchange, requires all companies to appoint at least one woman on their boards by the end of 2024. Photo: Edmond So

The summit capped a one-month programme that gives university students an opportunity to get industry experience with a focus on fintech positions in the Greater Bay Area.