Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) is the holding company for the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Futures Exchange, and the London Metal Exchange. The HKEX logo was changed effective 21 January 2016, to align with the group’s new corporate identity. The old and new logos were published side by side in an official company announcement on that date.[1]
Design and History
The 2016 redesign was the first change to the company logo since the 2000 merger of the four exchanges, according to reporting at the time.[2] The new mark was introduced alongside HKEX’s 2016-2018 strategic plan, which emphasized the exchange’s role as a connector between mainland China and international markets.[3]
The new logo was reported to have been designed by Brand Union, an international advertising and brand consultancy.[4] HKEX’s wholly owned subsidiaries, the London Metal Exchange (LME) and LME Clear, also introduced new logos at the same time to reflect the close connection between the group’s brands.[4]
Meaning and Symbolism
The new logo takes the form of an X, formed by two interlocking rings or bands. According to HKEX’s own description, the new mark was inspired by the globe icon in the old logo and symbolizes the group’s ambition to connect China with the world, as well as its vision of building an effective cross-market, cross-asset-class, and cross-cultural connectivity platform.[4]
HKEX stated that the red portion on the left represents the China market, the blue portion on the right represents the international market, and the overlapping section in the middle represents Hong Kong’s role as a “super-connector.”[3] A separate report described the red as representing mainland investors and financial products, with the blue representing international investors and products.[5]
Typography and Design
HKEX described the new logo as using carefully designed lettering that gives the overall visual effect a cleaner and more modern appearance, making the group’s brand image more distinctive.[4] The wordmark accompanies the X-shaped symbol in the full logo lockup.
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