Exchange chief executive Alec Tsui Yiu-Wa said yesterday the exchange was studying the possibility of extending its hours to match up with the London and New York markets.

``Investors would then be able to trade 24 hours globally,'' he said. To co-ordinate its opening and closing times with the New York and London markets, Hong Kong would need to have an early morning and an evening trading session.

The Hong Kong market opens at 1000 hrs (0730 hrs IST) and closes at 1600 hrs (1330 hrs IST). The London market opens at 1630 hrs Hong Kong time (1400 hrs IST) in summer and 1730 hrs (1500 hrs IST) in winter, while the New York market closes in the early hours of the morning Hong Kong time.

Tsui said the exchange would consider all possible options for extended trading hours,and would reconsider proposals made last year. Last year, the stock exchange suggested extending trading by adding another one-hour afternoon trading session. Two proposals were made. The first included a one-hour extension in the trading hall after the close at that time.

The second proposal was to stop business in the trading hall after the afternoon trading session, but allow brokers to use second terminals to trade for another hour, after a 30-minute break. The proposals were rejected by brokers because of a perceived lack of interest among retail investors and fears over costs.

Tsui said the exchange had to reconsider such a move to ensure Hong Kong's competitiveness with other markets. The exchange was now considering the costs and business opportunities of extending its hours. He said the stock exchange would discuss with the HKFE how futures market would deal with new trading times.