THE chief executive of Hong Kong’s stock exchange said overseas-listed Chinese firms are welcome to tap the territory’s market for funds while waiting for the Chinese mainland to implement its own secondary listings plan.

Hong Kong’s exchange is competing with mainland bourses in Shanghai and Shenzhen to lure the likes of U.S.-listed Baidu Inc., Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and JD.com Inc. back to Asia via secondary listings.

To that end, Hong Kong this year eased rules on dual-class and secondary listings, and permitted listings from pre-revenue biotech firms. China established Chinese depositary receipts (CDRs) to provide an “institutional foundation” for innovative firms to list.

So far, no firm has issued CDRs, whereas NASDAQ-listed Beigene will be the first to list under Hong Kong’s new secondary listing rules Aug. 8. The first biotech listing under new rules was that of Ascletis Pharma Inc., which debuted in Hong Kong yesterday.

“If many companies have funding needs before CDR happens, they can come to Hong Kong,” Charles Li, chief executive of bourse operator Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd. (HKEX), said at Ascletis’ listing ceremony.

Li said he did not know the details of CDR development, and that an institutional innovation of that size would take time.(SD-Agencies)