Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) has approved several resolutions during its Annual General Meeting held on Wednesday, April 29. Among the decisions was the replacement of its auditor. PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC Hong Kong), which has served as HKEX's auditor since 2000, will not be reappointed for the 2026 fiscal year. It will be succeeded by KPMG, another of the "Big Four" accounting firms.
The change follows recent regulatory actions involving PwC Hong Kong. Earlier this month, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission reached an agreement with PwC Hong Kong regarding its involvement in financial misstatements by China Evergrande Group during the 2019 and 2020 fiscal years. Under the agreement, PwC Hong Kong has set aside HK$1 billion to compensate eligible independent minority shareholders of China Evergrande. Separately, the Hong Kong Accounting and Financial Reporting Council imposed a HK$300 million fine on PwC Hong Kong in relation to the same matter.
HKEX has received a confirmation letter from PwC Hong Kong stating that there are no issues concerning its resignation as auditor that need to be brought to shareholders' attention. The board of directors has also confirmed that there are no matters related to the auditor change requiring shareholder attention.
According to HKEX's 2025 annual report, the total fees paid to PwC Hong Kong for the 2025 fiscal year amounted to HK$25 million, including HK$22 million for audit services and HK$3 million for non-audit services.
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