- 19-May-2008

Hong kong, May 19 (Xinhua) -- The Hong kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited said Monday its senior management will observe three minutes of silence at a ceremony in the afternoon, and called on traders to suspend trading for one minute.

The stock exchange will not suspend trading during the three minutes starting 2:28 p.m., the exact time when the deadly quake struck a mountainous area of Sichuan Province on May 12, a spokeswoman of the exchange said.

But traders were called on to pause for the first minute of the afternoon trading, which is also the last minute of the three-minute silence, she said.

The normal trading hours of the Hong kong stock exchange comprise morning trading from 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 at noon and afternoon trading from 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Members of the company's senior management, including Chairman Ronald Arculli and Chief Executive Paul Chou Man-yiu, will attend a ceremony at the exchange.

The gold market will delay its afternoon trading by one minute to resume trading at 2:31 p.m. but will close as normal at 5:00 p.m.