HONG KONG, December 1. /TASS/. The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong plans to cancel the rule of compulsory cancellation of trading in case of strong typhoons and natural disasters for the first time since the middle of the last century, the South China Morning Post newspaper says.

The trading platform initiated a poll among investors and public to abolish the rule effective since 1950s, according to the newspaper. The poll will continue until January 26, 2024. In case of a positive decision the requirement to mandatory cancellation of trading will be abolished as early as by July. The typhoon season usually starts in Hong Kong exactly during this month.

This will make possible to increase volumes of transactions and tax deduction to the budget, the Stock Exchange administration said. At the same time, it indicated that special attention is paid to safety of people and urged traders to transfer employees to distant work in case of bad weather.

The Hong Kong Stock Exchange postponed or canceled trading at least eleven times since 2018 due to natural disasters. It remains the single large international platform continues canceling trading sessions in case of poor weather conditions, the South China Morning Post noted.