Xiaomi shares notch new high after Hong Kong, mainland China stock exchanges reach agreement

Shares of smartphone maker Xiaomi rose on Wednesday, notching a new high after Hong Kong's stock exchange said it would work with its mainland counterparts on moving toward including companies with weighted voting rights in the stock connect program.

That followed Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, which operates the Hong Kong stock exchange, saying Wednesday that it had come to an agreement with counterparts in Shanghai and Shenzhen to move toward allowing the trade of companies with weighted voting rights (WVR), or dual class shares, through the program connecting stocks between Hong Kong and the mainland.

The three stock exchanges have agreed to form a joint working group to develop programs and additional rules to facilitate the inclusion of WVR companies in stock connect trading "as soon as possible," Hong Kong Exchanges said in a release. There was no elaboration on when exactly that would occur.

It added that the parties also recognized that mainland investors may not be familiar with the concept of WVR companies and that there was a need to review both markets' sophistication and regulatory framework when such companies are allowed for trade under the stock connect.

The development on Wednesday comes days after Chinese stock exchanges said the stock connect scheme, which links mainland markets to those in Hong Kong, would not be extended to companies with weighted voting rights structures. Shares of Xiaomi had declined briefly by almost 10 percent earlier this week following that news.

On Wednesday, Xiaomi rose 3.11 percent to close at 21.55 Hong Kong dollars ($2.75), after earlier rising as high as HK$22.20 ($2.83) per share.

That was the first time shares of Xiaomi topped the HK$22 level, which was the high-end of the company's HK$17 to HK$22 initial public offering price range. Shares had been priced at HK$17 apiece.

The broader Hang Seng Index edged higher by 0.23 percent at Wednesday's close.