Governance standards in newly listed companies might not be as well developed as in more established ones and the issue will be closely monitored, Hong Kong Securities & Futures Commission (SFC) Chairman Martin Wheatley said Friday.

Wheatley said Hong Kong will likely see a significant number of companies and trusts listing on the stock exchange this year, including a growing number of Chinese mainland companies, according to a government press release.

Sponsors must scrutinize information provided by the listing applicants with professional judgment. When issues or concerns are raised by professional advisers, the sponsors also have a duty to follow up with them, he said.

"We will continue to monitor their performance and take firm action against sponsors who failed to comply with relevant regulations applicable to them."

Wheatley said another major task this year is to give statutory backing to important listing requirements.

"This means that some of the tasks now performed by the Stock Exchange will transfer to the commission and that a breach of the rules will become a breach of the law. We believe this initiative will further improve the governance of companies and promote investor confidence," he said.

The SFC also unveiled the latest findings on its derivative warrants investors survey.

According to the survey, retail participation last year had been significant in terms of the number of transactions, but not very significant in terms of transaction value.

About 4.7 percent of Hong Kong adults or 12.9 percent of retail investors invested in derivative warrants. More than three quarters of them traded warrants in the hope of getting short-term gains, and more than 90 percent of all warrant investors knew that the risks were high or very high.

The commission will soon publish the summary of the result of last November's consultation on proposed measures to improve the market.

Source: Xinhua