T+1 shift sparks dividend chaos in HK structured products

Products staying on T+2 leave providers scrambling to deal with ex-dividend dates caught inbetween

The impending transition of the US equities market to T+1 settlement is causing panic among Hong Kong providers of accumulators and decumulators, who are grappling with the question of how to handle dividends that are paid within the products’ two-day settlement cycle.

A number of issuers won’t be ready to trade on a T+1 basis from the May 28 deadline and will continue on a T+2 basis. The problem is that if the ex-dividend date of the underlying shares falls within the T+2 timeframe, there no