礼德律师事务所伦敦合伙人Delphine Currie接受《亚洲法律杂志》采访就沪伦通发表观点
2019年6月，伦敦证券交易所集团发表声明正式启动沪伦通。沪伦通将全球最大的本土资本市场（上海）与世界领先的国际资本市场（伦敦）汇集在一起，实现了中国和英国资本市场的互联互通。近日，礼德律师事务所伦敦办公室合伙人Delphine Currie接受《亚洲法律杂志》（ALB）采访，在深化 “全球连接” 专题报道中发表了针对沪伦通这一模式的观点。
沪伦通使得符合条件的两地上市公司可以发行存托凭证（DR），并在对方市场根据当地的法规和时区上市交易。它同时代表了上交所第一次向境外发行人开放，以及存托凭证第一次可以转换为A股的流通股份。Delphine介绍道：“国际机构投资者熟悉全球存托凭证，即使在大环境不景气的前提下，中国公司一旦在伦交所发行全球存托凭证挂牌上市，都意味着将会撬开吸引大量潜在额外投资者的可能性，”Delphine同时强调，“如要确保上市成功，公司上市后要严格履行的一个义务就是持续向当地市场更新公司的业务情况与发展动态。”
在谈到来自监管的挑战时，Delphine认为，其实很多法律和监管方面的挑战都来自两地上市的需要，因为要满足不同的监管要求、也要严格遵守两地的上市要求及持续的上市后义务。她坦言，确保让董事会和投资者及时知悉两地市场在不同规定上的差异性，比如公司治理结构的不同，对律师来说也是一项充满挑战的工作。“上市文件需要清晰明确地披露这些差别，以便投资者在充分知情的前提下做出投资决策，降低未来因误解产生的潜在风险，”Delphine补充道。
而当前中美贸易加剧与监管趋严的态势，持续为寻求吸引全球投资的中国企业创造了一个具有挑战性的环境。沪伦通虽然有利于丰富境内企业融资渠道，但境内企业想要发行全球存托凭证、进入上市名单并在伦交所主板沪伦通板块上市需要满足多项标准，“公司市值不低于人民币200亿元（28亿美元），仅市值门槛一项就筛出了很多规模有限的公司，”Delphine指出。
Delphine提到的另一个重点是中英投资文化的差异，她认为中英文化差异是沪伦通项目中一个不可回避的问题，而律师和其他专业机构人士能够帮助投资企业有效处理文化差异。 “对于律师来说，沪伦通能够帮助其蓝筹客户的投资视野扩展至全球资本市场，在这个资本全球流动过程中，律师能够帮助客户克服跨境监管带来的诸多挑战，”
“尽管投资者愿意并能够考虑更复杂的投资建议，但通过投资伦交所的上市公司，投资者对严格遵守高标准的公司治理是充满期待的，这包括适用的监管要求，也包括机构投资者团体自己制定的非正式的指导意见与标准。机构投资者也希望能够与他们投资的公司有更多的对话（适用于上市公司和机构投资者的《英国公司治理准则》对此做出了规定）。”
Delphine表示： “律师及其他专业机构人士可以很好地帮助公司符合投资者的高期待值。礼德帮助250多家公司在香港地区、英国、美国成功上市，特别是我们的大中华区团队，配合非常紧密，能有效克服项目中间涉及的中英投资文化差异问题。”
Reed Smith Global Corporate Partner Delphine Currie Shares Thought on the Shanghai-London Stock Connect with ALB
London Stock Exchange Group Plc (LSE) has announced that shares can now be admitted to the Shanghai-London Stock Connect (Stock Connect). Stock Connect brings together one of the world’s largest domestic capital markets (Shanghai) with the world’s leading international market (London) and opens up the opportunity for global investors to trade shares in Chinese companies and for Chinese investors to buy shares in London-listed companies. Recently, Delphine Currie, Reed Smith Global Corporate Partner, shares her thought on the Shanghai-London Stock Connect with ALB.
The LSE has described the new market as a “milestone” in bringing the capital markets of London and Shanghai together. Stock Connect allows eligible companies listed in each market to issue, on the other exchange, a depositary receipt (DR) that can be traded under local rules in the local time zone. It also represents the first time the Shanghai Stock Exchange will be open to foreign issuers and the first time that a DR will be capable of being converted into an ‘A’ share which is fully fungible. According to Currie, international institutional investors are familiar with London DRs (GDRs) and, as such, despite the current climate, for the right investment proposition, a listing of GDRs in London has the potential to unlock a very large pool of additional investors. Currie also stressed that, “to ensure the listing is successful, a company will need to accompany it with an ongoing campaign to develop and maintain their profile in the London market.”
When it comes to challenges from regulations, Currie cautioned that “for companies, many of the legal and regulatory challenges are likely to derive from those associated with any dual-listing, including having to meet the requirements of two different rule books, as all participating companies will be required to meet the listing and ongoing obligations specific to each market”. Currie admits, “there will also be other challenges in ensuring that both boards and investors are properly briefed about these and other differences between the two markets, such as approaches to corporate governance.” “Listing documents will need to disclose these distinctions clearly to enable informed investment in companies on the platform and reduce the risk of misunderstandings further down the line,” Currie adds.
The current international trade tensions continue to create a challenging environment for Chinese companies seeking to attract international investment. The new platform provides a new route to access the London market, one of the deepest pools of capital in the world, but it is not open to all companies – there are various criteria which a Chinese company will need to satisfy in order for GDRs representing its shares to be eligible for admission to the UK Official List and the SLSC segment of the Main Market of the LSE. “The RMB 20 billion ($ 2.8 billion) market cap requirement alone will preclude all but the largest,” Currie pointed out.
Another significant issue observed by Currie is the difference between Chinese and British investment cultures, which she thought as unavoidable. Curries pointed out that lawyers and other professional advisers can help companies. “For lawyers, it brings the opportunity to help their blue-chip clients broaden their exposure to global capital markets and to guide them through the many challenges of cross-border regulation,” said Delphine Currie.
“While willing and able to consider more sophisticated and complex investment propositions, by investing in London Stock Exchange-listed companies, investors expect adherence to high standards of corporate governance. This includes applicable regulatory requirements, but also less formal guidelines and standards set by institutional investor groups themselves. Institutional investors also expect to be able to have greater dialogue with the companies in which they invest (with high expectations set for this by the UK corporate governance codes applying to both listed companies and institutional investors).”
Curries said lawyers and other professional advisers can help companies navigate this environment and provide guidance on how to meet investor expectations. Reed Smith has lawyers who have listed more than 250 Chinese companies in HK, the UK and the USA. “Our teams on the ground in China and Hong Kong are perfectly placed to bridge any cultural differences,” Currie said.