His comments appeared to soothe concerns that Shanghai and Shenzhen, which lifted 12-month bans on IPOs earlier this year and have since attracted many listings, would steal Hong Kong's thunder.

"We don't think this will happen. Indeed, China can have more than one financial hub," he said.

Hong Kong has its unique attraction as a global financial centre that is home to millions of international investors, while Shanghai and Shenzhen mainly target domestic markets, he said.

Arculli added that the completion of the A-share reform on the mainland, which aimed to transfer a massive number of State shares into tradable stocks, would prompt more mainland enterprises to seek dual listings.

He said HKEx would work closely will its mainland peers in Shanghai and Shenzhen to smooth the process for dual listings.

However, the three bourses have to work together to solve some technical problems such as market opening and trading, information disclosure and the time of trading suspension, he added.

1

2

(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)