Re: (1) Amendment to the Terms and Conditions; and (2) Our Services under Severe Weather Trading Arrangement

Dear Valued Customers, 

We, CITIC Securities Brokerage (HK) Limited (“CSBHK”) and CITIC Securities Futures (HK) Limited (“CSFHK”), have recently updated our Terms and Conditions for Securities Trading, Terms and Conditions for Margin Financing, Terms and Conditions for Securities Trading (Professional Investor - Institutional), Addendum in relation to China Connect,   Addendum in relation to Structured Note Transactions and the Tax Information And Common Reporting  Standard Addendum To 1）Terms And Conditions For Securities Trading； 2） Terms And Conditions For Securities Trading (Professional Investor – Institutional)；3）Terms And Conditions For Futures And Options Trading; 4) Terms And Conditions For Futures And Options Trading (Experienced Corporate Professional Investors And Institutional Professional Investors)  (the “CRS and FATCA Addendum”)  (collectively referred as “Terms and Conditions”) and Terms and Conditions for Futures and Options Trading to reflect certain regulatory updates and our services. The amendments to the Terms and Conditions outlined in this letter are applicable to both CSBHK and CSFHK.

Words and expressions defined in the Terms and Conditions shall, unless the context otherwise requires, have the same meanings when used here. The revised Terms and Conditions are now available on our website at: https://www.citics.com.hk/customer-service.php.

1. Unwinding the positions if the Customer is ineligible investor

In the updated Terms and Conditions, the Customers agree that if they are or become an ineligible investor under the Securities, CSBHK and CSFHK have the authority to unwind the Customer's securities positions. The Customer shall bear all costs and expenses related to or arising from the unwind, and agrees to release CSBHK and CSFHK from any and all claims that the Customer has had, currently has, or may have in the future against CSBHK and CSFHK arising from or relating to the unwinding.  The Terms and Conditions relates to unwinding arrangement can be found in Terms and Conditions for Securities Trading, Terms and Conditions for Margin Financing, Terms and Conditions for Securities Trading (Professional Investor - Institutional) and  Terms and Conditions for Futures and Options Trading.

2. Update on Terms and Conditions Related to the CRS and FATCA Addendum    

In order to strengthen our position over the tax, levies and any withholding adjustment, we have updated charge related provisions in the CRS and FATCA Addendum that CSBHK and CSFHK do not currently provide reduced rates of withholding tax based on tax treaty benefits, and the customer agrees to provide necessary information and forms to assist CSBHK and CSFHK in obtaining any exemptions or refunds of withholding taxes, while acknowledging that CSBHK and CSFHK may make adjustments to rectify under-withholding if necessary. You may refer to CRS and FATCA Addendum for further details.

3. Implementation of Severe Weather Trading Arrangement by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited 

Effective from 23 September 2024, HKEX will implement severe weather trading (“SWT”) arrangements in the securities and derivatives markets. These arrangements will be applicable during an issuance of Typhoon Signal No.8 or above, or a Black Rainstorm Warning by the Hong Kong Observatory, or an announcement of "Extreme Conditions" by the HKSAR Government. The Terms and Conditions relates to SWT arrangement can be found in Terms and Conditions for Securities Trading, Terms and Conditions for Margin Financing, Terms and Conditions for Securities Trading (Professional Investor - Institutional), Addendum in relation to China Connect and  Terms and Conditions for Futures and Options Trading. 

4. Our Services under Severe Weather Trading Arrangement

In additional to the amendment to our Terms and Conditions, we would like to highlight the operation and service arrangement under SWT as follows: 

Under SWT arrangements, Hong Kong’s securities and derivatives markets, including Stock Connect, derivatives holiday trading, and after-hours trading will remain open and operational during severe weather conditions, without any delayed market opening or suspension of trading.

During SWT days, in order to ensure the smooth operation of trading and the safety of our employees, our services will be conducted in a fully digital and remote manner. We will strive to maintain a level of service similar to that of regular trading days whenever feasible. All systems and applications for online trading services, customer service emails and hotline support, and trading settlement services will continue to operate as usual. However, our branches will not be opened to the public on SWT days, and some services may be temporarily suspended or postponed until regular trading days, subject to the limitations imposed by severe weather conditions. Please refer to the details below:

As securities settlement will proceed as usual under SWT arrangements, investors should monitor their account status and ensure they have sufficient funds to fulfill settlement and margin calls obligations. In the event of market volatility on SWT days, investors should make early preparations for potential margin calls and ensure they have appropriate and adequate channels to fulfill payment obligations. We encourage clients to use electronic fund transfer methods (Faster Payment System "FPS," and electronic direct debit authorization "eDDA") to deposit funds. In summary, we advise customers to make adequate financial arrangements and pay attention to our operational procedures on SWT days.

If you have any enquiries, please do not hesitate to contact your Relationship Manager or Customer Service Hotline at (852) 2237 9338 / 400 818 0338 from 9am to 6pm, Monday to Friday.

Yours faithfully,

CITIC Securities Brokerage (HK) Limited 

CITIC Securities Futures (HK) Limited