Part of the Hong Kong Stock Loan Regulatory & Eligibility Guide — view the full guide
A stock loan usually needs the shares in a custody account the lender can rely on. How long that takes depends on where the shares are now: already inside Hong Kong’s central clearing system, or still on paper in the holder’s own name.
This note walks through the moves an investor may need: transfers between CCASS participants, deposits of paper certificates, and the changes the uncertificated securities market brings from 16 November 2026. The fees quoted are HKSCC's and the registrars’; what brokers and custodians charge their own clients varies. It is orientation, not legal or tax advice.
Where are my HKEX shares held now?
In one of two ways today. Either a broker or custodian holds them in CCASS, where HKSCC Nominees is the registered owner and you have a beneficial interest, or they are registered in your own name and represented by paper certificates.
The SFC puts the CCASS route plainly: investors "do not hold legal title"; HKSCC Nominees is recorded as the registered owner, and the certificates are kept in its vault. Holding in your own name gives legal title, but a transfer of paper certificates "can take around 10 business days" (SFC: Uncertificated Securities Market).
A third option sits inside CCASS: an individual, joint holders or a company can open an investor participant account directly with HKSCC. Shares in such an account are still registered to HKSCC Nominees once deposited, and moves in and out use slightly different instructions, described below.
Which route applies decides the next step. Shares in CCASS move by matching instructions between participants, while shares on paper must first be deposited. Our note on share charge versus share pledge explains how the form of holding shapes the security a lender takes.
How do transfers between CCASS participants work?
Each of the two participants, typically your broker and the new custodian, inputs a settlement instruction, and CCASS matches the pair. If both are input and authorised before 3:45 p.m., the transfer can settle the same day.
HKSCC’s procedures say each participant "must, on each occasion, input a Settlement Instruction", and settlement instructions cover broker-custodian transactions, stock pledging and portfolio movements. Settlement can be free of payment or against payment. The shares stay registered to HKSCC Nominees throughout, so legal title does not change.
Unmatched instructions are purged 14 calendar days after input. Where an investor participant account is involved, the participant inputs an investor settlement instruction instead, which the investor may need to affirm online; it settles on input or affirmation if the shares are there. A "transfer instruction" is a different CCASS term, used for certain debt instruments, so it helps to use the right words with both firms.
A move between your own accounts is normally a portfolio movement with no change in beneficial ownership. Whether stamp duty or any other charge applies to a particular transfer is a question for your tax adviser.
How do I deposit paper share certificates?
Give the certificates and an executed transfer deed to your broker or custodian, which lodges them at the CCASS depository for re-registration to HKSCC Nominees. The depository counter is open from 9:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m., Monday to Friday, except public holidays.
HKSCC’s procedures require deposits to come with the certificates, instruments of transfer "duly executed, endorsed and stamped as appropriate", and a stock deposit form; a corporate investor participant also provides a certified board resolution. An investor participant can deposit only certificates registered in its own name or in the name of HKSCC Nominees.
Timing differs by depositor. Shares deposited by a broker or custodian participant are normally credited to its account immediately, subject to HKSCC’s checks, while an investor participant’s deposit is credited only after re-registration. The SFC describes the paper process to HKSCC Nominees as taking "the standard 10 business days".
Once re-registered, the shares are book-entry holdings that the lender’s custodian can hold and move. Our note on the anatomy of a share pledge agreement explains the perfection and delivery terms a facility usually sets.
How long does each step take, and what does it cost?
A matched transfer can settle the same day, while the paper route takes about 10 business days end to end. HKSCC charges nothing to deposit certificates, and each side of a transfer pays HK$1 per instruction plus 0.002% of value, between HK$2 and HK$100.
The figures come from HKSCC’s Operational Procedures and HKEX’s fee schedule (HKEX: clearing and settlement fees). Value for the 0.002% fee is measured at the previous trading day’s price, and free-of-payment transfers carry no money settlement fee.
A deposit also carries a HK$5 stamp duty on each transfer deed, and the SFC says the registrar’s HK$2.50 fee per certificate is currently borne by HKSCC. Until 16 November 2026, HKSCC also charges participants a scrip fee of HK$1.50 per board lot on any net increase in holdings between book closes; it is removed when the uncertificated securities market starts.
Withdrawing shares from CCASS, the reverse move, costs HK$3.50 per board lot until launch, and 0.015% of value with a HK$10 minimum per order from 16 November 2026. Broker and custodian charges, account opening times and each firm’s internal processing all vary.
What changes when the uncertificated securities market starts?
From 16 November 2026, shares of participating issuers can be held in your own name without paper certificates, through an approved securities registrar. Existing certificates stay valid and dematerialising them is optional, but deposits, withdrawals and HKSCC’s fees change.
Issuers join in stages: existing issuers must participate within five years of launch, and new listings will be uncertificated from the start. The SFC says there is no obligation to dematerialise existing holdings and existing certificates will not be invalidated (SFC: frequently asked questions about USM).
Once an issuer participates, depositing its certificates becomes a "demat with transfer": the participant enters an electronic deposit order, the certificates must reach the depository within three business days, and the registrar converts them to uncertificated form in HKSCC Nominees’ name within five business days. Only transfers with no change in beneficial ownership are accepted this way.
Withdrawals change too. Participating shares can no longer be withdrawn as certificates except in limited cases, and after withdrawal they can be held only in the investor’s own name in uncertificated form. HKEX’s USM page carries HKSCC’s circulars and the revised procedures.
HKSCC has told participants there is no need to rush to deposit certificates because of the change, and has asked them not to encourage deposits without a client need. For a stock loan, the reason to move shares is the facility, not the market change. Our note on the uncertificated securities market and pledged HKEX shares explains what it means for shares already pledged.
This article is educational and is not legal or tax advice. Fees and procedures are those published by HKEX, HKSCC and the SFC as at 30 October 2026, and some change on 16 November 2026; check the current versions, and your broker’s and custodian’s own charges, before moving shares. Hong Kong Stock Loans acts as an arranger and introducer in collaboration with SFC-licensed counterparties.
At a glance
| Step | Who acts | Documents | Typical time | Fees |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Move CCASS shares to a new custodian | Your broker and the custodian each input a settlement instruction; CCASS matches them | Instruction details set by HKSCC; client paperwork varies | Same day if both are input and authorised before 3:45 p.m.; unmatched instructions purged after 14 calendar days | HKSCC: HK$1 per instruction plus 0.002% of value (min HK$2, max HK$100) per side; firm charges vary |
| Same move with an investor participant account | The participant inputs an investor settlement instruction; the investor affirms online if required | Varies | Settles on input or affirmation if the shares are available | HK$1 per instruction for the participant; investor participant 0.002% (min HK$2, max HK$100), with no fee for transfers into a new account in its first ten settlement days |
| Deposit paper certificates | You hand certificates and a transfer deed to the broker or custodian, which lodges them; HKSCC sends them for re-registration to HKSCC Nominees | Certificates; transfer deed executed and stamped as required; stock deposit form | Counter open 9:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. on weekdays; broker or custodian deposits normally credited immediately; re-registration time varies | HKSCC deposit fee nil; HK$5 stamp duty per transfer deed; HKSCC scrip fee HK$1.50 per board lot on net increases between book closes until 16 November 2026 |
| Deposit certificates of a USM issuer (from 16 November 2026) | The participant enters an electronic deposit order and delivers the certificates; the registrar converts them to HKSCC Nominees | Certificates; transfer deed declaring HK$5 fixed duty paid and no change in beneficial ownership | Certificates due at the depository within three business days of the order; registrar completes within five business days | Dematerialisation HK$5 per certificate (min HK$20); transfer and registration 0.02% (min HK$20); HK$5 stamp duty |
| Move an own-name uncertificated holding into CCASS (from 16 November 2026) | A participant approved as a Stamp Authorized Person submits the request; you affirm on the registrar’s platform | Your holder details; declaration of no change in beneficial ownership | Sent to the registrar the same day if submitted by 1:30 p.m.; affirm within five business days; registered within two business days of affirmation | Transfer and registration fee 0.02% (min HK$20) |
| Withdraw from CCASS (the reverse move) | The participant inputs a withdrawal order | Collection authorisation form | Orders input before 2:00 p.m. normally collectable by 5:00 p.m. the same day; re-registration time varies | HK$3.50 per board lot until 16 November 2026; then 0.015% of value (min HK$10 per order) |
Hong Kong Stock Loans
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