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Dec. 10 (NBD) -- Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) has reached a consensus with the stock exchange in Shanghai and Shenzhen under which investors on the Chinese mainland can trade stocks of Hong Kong-listed enterprises holding weighted voting rights through Stock Connect.

The new rule is expected to come into effect by mid-2019.

HKEX started to accept applications for initial public offering (IPO) of companies with different voting rights on April 30 this year, which is regarded as a significant reform. 

On July 9, smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi Corporation (01810.HK) made its debut on HKEX, becoming the first company adopting such structure to be listed in the stock market.

Following Xiaomi's footstep, lifestyle service app Meituan Dianping (03690.HK), another firm of the kind, went public in Hong Kong in September.

But the exchanges in Shanghai and Shenzhen stated on July 14 companies including Xiaomi would be excluded from the Stock Connect scheme.

The decision could cut billions of yuan in capital for the two firms, and deprive Chinese investors of sharing their earnings.

It is noteworthy that though HKEX topped global rankings for IPO volumes in the first half of 2018 and is on track to take the crown for the entire year, yet most of its new listings posted poor performance.

Only six of the biggest 20 IPOs in Hong Kong were still trading above their offering prices a month after debut, the data shows, compared to 16 on the NYSE and 10 on Nasdaq.

As two of Hong Kong's largest deals, Xiaomi and Meituan Dianping, which raised 9.7 billion U.S. dollars combined, have dropped by 21.9 percent and 24.6 percent, respectively, since their floats.

Xiaomi stock slid to 13.28 Hong Kong dollars (1.7 U.S. dollars) on Monday, lower than its IPO price of 17 Hong Kong dollars (2.2 U.S. dollars). The share price looks far from what its CEO Lei Jun promised - first-day buyers will make a 100 percent gain. 

Shares of Meituan Dianping are also trading below its offering price of 69 Hong Kong dollars (8.8 U.S. dollars), with its closing price for Monday down to 52.05 Hong Kong dollars (6.7 U.S. dollars).

HKEX's new change is believed to bring benefits to the two giants, helping them draw investors from the mainland of China and drive up stock prices.

Ye Shangzhi, chief strategist at First Shanghai Group in Hong Kong, told NBD that the policy could further open a new channel for capital flows, but the amount of inflows would depend on the company's financial results.

Email: zhanglingxiao@nbd.com.cn