(1 June 2018) Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX), which has more than 2,200 companies listed on its stock exchange, has become a Partner Exchange of the United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchanges initiative, committing to further promote sustainable and transparent capital markets. “We are delighted to join the Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative. As an exchange operator, HKEX has been playing a key role in promoting stronger environmental, social and governance performance and disclosure obligations among listed issuers in its market. We look forward to working with other stock exchanges to promote the sustainable development of capital markets and to encourage responsible investment for the long-term benefits of society,” said Mrs. Laura Cha, Chairman of HKEX. HKEX requires its listed companies to report environmental, social and governance (ESG) information, and provides both written guidance and training on this and other sustainability-related topics. As part of its ongoing initiative to raise the overall standard of ESG performance and disclosure among issuers, HKEX strengthened the ESG disclosure requirements under Hong Kong’s Listing Rules after conducting a market consultation on proposed changes to the requirements. HKEX is the 74^th stock exchange to join the United Nations SSE initiative, which now represents nearly 30,000 companies with a market cap of USD40 trillion. The SSE works with its partners on five key areas:

• ESG transparency
• Green finance
• Gender equality
• Sustainable SME development
• Partnering for sustainable development