HKEX targets the second half of 2028 for T+1 in Hong Kong cash equities

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) said on 16 October that it is aiming to move the Hong Kong securities market to T+1 settlement in the second half of 2028, “subject to market readiness and regulatory approval”. The exact switchover date will be announced later.

The target was set out in HKEX’s conclusions on its consultation on accelerated settlement for the cash market, published alongside an information paper. HKEX said it received 109 non-duplicated responses from brokers, custodians, investment managers, industry associations, technology providers, investors and others, and that there was “broad market support” for the change.

Respondents identified several pressures:

• the heavier operational load of a shorter cycle
• getting securities available and settlement prepared in time
• automation and settlement data quality
• the need for industry-wide coordination

Three layers

HKEX will organise the transition in three layers.

Layer 1: HKEX’s own post-trade infrastructure and operating model. Changes include:

• longer settlement instruction processing windows
• additional free-of-payment settlement runs
• earlier risk reports
• real-time settlement instruction input and status updates via API
• real-time matching through the Orion Cash Platform

The free-of-payment runs will allow settlement preparation on the evening of trade date, at 8pm and 10pm Hong Kong time, and at 8am on T+1, ahead of the regular batch settlement runs.

Layer 2: workflow tools. HKEX will build a Settlement Profile Repository and a Status Dashboard to improve the quality of standing settlement instruction data. It will continue working with stakeholders on trade allocation and confirmation matching.

For ETFs, it will provide an ETP platform to digitise and standardise primary-market creations and redemptions under the conversion agent model.

Layer 3: market-wide readiness. This covers practices outside HKEX’s own systems. HKEX will help set up industry working groups and will hold townhalls in 2026.

Industry-wide testing and readiness assessments will follow at a later stage.

Under the home market principle, Southbound Stock Connect trades will follow Hong Kong’s settlement arrangements and also move to T+1. HKEX said it will work with China Securities Depository and Clearing Corporation on an orderly transition.

“The transition to T+1 is a market-wide transformation that will require coordinated effort across the entire industry,” said chief executive Bonnie Y Chan, who encouraged participants “to start preparing early”.

Why it matters

The main difficulty in Hong Kong is cross-border flow: offshore investors settling across time zones, often with FX and securities lending involved. The evening free-of-payment runs and real-time SSI APIs address this most directly. They give US and European investors trading Hong Kong stocks a pre-positioning window on trade date instead of a scramble early on T+1.

For global custodians and brokers, the second half of 2028 comes after the EU’s move to T+1 on 11 October 2027, which UK and Swiss authorities are coordinating with. Lessons from Europe on allocations, confirmations and SSI hygiene should carry over, as should some of the same project teams.

Firms should also watch the Southbound commitment. Mainland participants’ processes will need to change, which ties the timetable to coordination with ChinaClear as well as HKEX’s own build.

Sources

• HKEX, “HKEX Sets Roadmap for T+1 Transition in Securities Market”, 16 October 2026 — https://www.hkex.com.hk/News/Market-Communications/2026/261016news?sc_lang=en