(Yicai Global) Aug. 15 -- Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd. (HKEx), first established 32 years ago, plans to rebuild its new trading floor in October. Its existing trading hall will not be used for stock trading in the future, and will be transformed into a "financial landmark" in Hong Kong.

The HKEx spokesman was quoted by the local media yesterday as saying that the HKEx plans to rebuild a trading floor in October this year and the existing trading hall will no longer be used for stock trading in the future.

The media reports indicated that the existing lease for Hong Kong stock exchange trading hall and dealing desks will expire at the end of October, and that the Hong Kong Stock Exchange is soliciting brokers needs to find out whether they will continue to use the securities exchange dealing desks. If brokers express needs, HKEx will discuss to set up a new lease to help brokers in order to reduce the impact due to the relocation, it said.

The earliest HKEx trading hall had an area of about 4,180 square meters, equivalent to the size of 10 basketball courts, with more than 900 brokers in the hall during its heyday. But after the advent of electronic trading in the 1990s, the importance of trading hall was significantly reduced. Data on the trading floor released by HKEx last time (2014) showed that trading volume from the floor decreased to 0.2 percent of the total turnover three years ago.

HKEx is reviewing the needs and profitability of the trading desks and seeks to move them to an office building near Central," HKEx spokesman added. Now, more stock institutions and brokers have been trading on the internet in their offices. Therefore, after the existing lease for the exchange exhibition and trading hall expires at the end of October, it will be converted into a multi-purpose and representative "financial landmark" to be mainly used for ceremony, exhibition, conference and investor education activities to promote Hong Kong's financial market development. That is to say, starting from November this year, the existing HKEx trading hall will be officially withdrawn from stage as a historic financial venue.