If it came to fruition, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange’s unsolicited $36.6 billion bid for the London Stock Exchange would create a market juggernaut, pairing the preeminent exchanges in Europe and Asia and creating an emboldened rival to challenge the leading U.S. exchanges
LONDON — Stock exchanges are potent national symbols of capitalistic clout, and a surprise offer on Wednesday by Hong Kong’s exchange to acquire its London competitor is likely to set off a transcontinental tug of war.
If it came to fruition, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange’s unsolicited $36.6 billion bid for the London Stock Exchange would create a market juggernaut, pairing the preeminent exchanges in Europe and Asia and creating an emboldened rival to challenge the leading U.S. exchanges.
Hong Kong officials said on Wednesday that fusing the two exchanges would allow companies and investors to profit from a common platform for trading stocks and bonds that would be open 18 hours a day.
But the proposed deal comes at a time of wrenching economic, political and social turmoil in Britain and Hong Kong that is jeopardizing their standings as regional financial hubs.
In Hong Kong, China’s efforts to assert control over the semiautonomous territory have provoked weeks of angry protests. And in Britain, the government is in turmoil over plans to exit the European Union in a way that could deflate the economy.
The Hong Kong offer would require Britain to cede a corporate crown jewel — one whose roots trace back to 1571 — at a time when London’s centuries-long status as a leading financial capital is already in doubt because of Brexit.
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