Burberry examining possibility of issuing CDRs

British luxury label Burberry is examining the possibility of participating in the long-anticipated Shanghai London Stock exchange scheme through issuing Chinese Depository Receipts, one of a number of foreign companies that have expressed their interest in joining the program, two people who have the knowledge of the matter said.

There is no concrete timeline set for the potential listing of the luxury company, but it is unlikely to overtake the others to become the first UK company to enter the Chinese A-share market through issuing CDRs as discussions remain at an early stage, according to the people.

The 162-year-old luxury brand, with already relative strong fundamentals among Chinese consumers, managed to tap more potential in China through presenting a limited-edition collection in October on Chinese mobile chat app WeChat.

The company did not respond to a request for an interview by press time.

Actual transactions are expected to take place after the scheme kicks off, the people said.

Earlier this year, Shanghai-listed Huatai Securities announced plans to list shares through global depository receipts in London, and London-based commercial lender HSBC has said the company is expected to issue CDRs to join the scheme.

The stock connect program will permit transactions of shares by listed firms on either side as they are allowed to issue depositary receipts in another market.

Financial regulators from both markets have gathered pace in recent months preparing for the coming trading link.

A number of key documents have been issued in the second half, including listing criteria for companies and rules for investors planning to purchase shares.

Foreign issuers are required to have an average market capitalization of at least 20 billion yuan ($2.9 billion) over the 120 trading days leading up to their application, and individuals should have an average daily balance of no less than 3 million yuan to become qualified investors to buy shares of foreign companies, according to earlier guidelines by the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Some preparatory work for transactions has been conducted several times to prevent any technical problems from arising, according to a manager with a Beijing-based securities companies who declined to be identified.