85 Hong Kong-listed companies miss deadline to put women on boards

A total of 85 Hong Kong-listed companies have failed to comply with a rule that requires them to have at least one woman on their boards of directors, according to the city’s bourse operator.

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX), which runs Asia’s third-largest stock market, announced the rule change three years ago, when about 800 firms or 40 per cent of listed companies had all-male boards. The deadline was Tuesday.

The companies that still lack women on their boards represent about 3 per cent of the exchange’s 2,650 listed companies, according to HKEX data. Some 41 per cent of listed companies have more than one woman on their boards.

“2025 is a milestone year for Hong Kong-listed companies, as single-gender boards are no longer allowed on HKEX’s markets,” said Katherine Ng, HKEX’s head of listing. “Our listed issuer community has overwhelmingly embraced this new chapter, creating hundreds of new roles for female directors. But we believe this is just the beginning.”

Among the 85 companies not in compliance, only 12 had no women on their boards during the three-year transitional period; the rest had women who later stepped down.

Most of the companies that failed to meet the requirement issued stock-exchange filings to explain the situation, with many indicating that they hope to appoint a woman to their boards within three to six months.

TravelSky Technology, China Railway Signal & Communication and Century Sunshine Group are among the listed companies that are not in compliance.