November 29th 2012 – The board of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (“HKEx”) is pleased to announce that the Financial Services Authority of the United Kingdom (“FSA”) has approved HKEx’s acquisition of control over The London Metal Exchange Limited (the “LME”) through its indirect wholly-owned subsidiary, HKEx Investment (UK) Limited (“HKEx Investment”), by way of a scheme of arrangement (the “Scheme”) and a capital reduction under the United Kingdom’s Companies Act.

Following the FSA’s approval, the hearing of the petition to the High Court of England and Wales (the “Court”) to sanction the Scheme and to confirm the related capital reduction of the LME is expected to take place on 5 December 2012. If the Court’s sanction and confirmation are obtained on 5 December 2012 and the relevant orders of the Court have been duly filed, the Scheme is expected to become unconditional and effective on or around 6 December 2012. Further details are set out in HKEx’s announcement issued today.

As there is no assurance that the Court will grant the relevant approvals at this stage, potential investors and HKEx shareholders should exercise caution when dealing in HKEx shares.

Re-disseminated by The Asian Banker