A consultation paper, released in December 2010, sought market views on whether shares should be traded ex-entitlement only after the entitlement has been approved by shareholders. The Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing House Limited received majority support from the market on trading ex-entitlement after shareholder approval and intends to implement the following proposals: (i) amend the Listing Rules to prevent a share from trading ex-entitlement before shareholder approval; (ii) require the record date to be set at least 3 business days after the date of shareholder approval (i.e. at least one cum-trading day will be provided); (iii) require a minimum of one last cum-trading day after the general meeting; and (iv) apply the proposed changes to all conditional entitlements that are subject to general meeting approval.