17th Feb 2026 11:24
(Alliance News) - The UK government is planning to relax stock market listings rules by permitting Chinese-registered entities listing global depositary receipts in London to use Chinese standards for UK listing purposes, the Financial Reporting Council said Monday.
The government requested that the FRC consult on the plans to "address a perceived barrier discouraging some Chinese-registered issuers from choosing the UK as a listing venue."
The FRC said: "The proposed amendment is intended to support a shared wider government objective of boosting UK economic growth and strengthening London’s global market competitiveness, while ensuring that appropriate safeguards remain in place."
It added that the proposed change "is narrowly scoped, time‑limited and includes safeguards designed to uphold investor protection and market integrity, pending a longer-term legislative solution."
The announcement comes after UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited Beijing in January. Last week, China confirmed that British citizens will be able to visit the country visa-free from Tuesday.
In 2021, the FRC had ruled that Chinese auditing standards were not equivalent to the UK's existing standards.
By Tom Budszus, Alliance News slot editor
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