THE Isle of Man has been accepted as an "approved jurisdiction" by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

This means companies incorporated under the two main bodies of company legislation in the Island - the Companies Acts 1931-2004 and the Companies Act 2006 - have been accepted.

So those companies can now seek a listing on the HKSE.

This recognition has been achieved on the understanding the Isle of Man has been able to demonstrate equivalence in its standards of investor and shareholder protection to those available under Hong Kong company law. 

A further prerequisite is that the Isle of Man is a full signatory to the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) Multilateral Memorandum of Understanding.

Juan Watterson MHK, political member of the Department of Economic Development responsible for financial services, said: "This paves the way for the Isle of Man to attract foreign issuers to list on the HKSE.

"In recent years the Island has become the leading jurisdiction for listing foreign companies on the UK's AIM market - a number of our commercial law firms already have considerable international expertise working with Asian lawyers including equity and debt issues by Isle of Man companies on other Asian exchanges and in some cases have representative offices in Asia.

"We are constantly looking for ways to improve and build on the Island's international reputation as a high quality International Business Centre, and this listing approval is a further example of this commitment."

Economic Development Minister Allan Bell MHK said: "The Hong Kong Stock Exchange is assuming greater importance among the leading capital markets.

"Given the Isle of Man's proven credentials in Asia and unique status, for example, in facilitating manufacturers in greater China to import goods into the European Union, we see this endorsement by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange as further strengthening the role that we are able to play in enabling international trade."