As an option holder, what should I do if I still hold Hong Kong stock options at expiration? Automatic exercise rules and precautions explained

According to Hong Kong Exchange rules, when you still hold an in-the-money options contract on the expiration date of Hong Kong stock options, and its in-the-money amount reaches or exceeds 1.5%, the contract will be automatically exercised by default.

If the contract does not meet the automatic exercise conditions and you do not actively exercise before expiration, the contract will automatically expire worthless.

Sufficient assets in your account are required for exercise:

Call options: Exercise requires payment of funds to purchase the corresponding number of underlying stocks;

Put options: Exercise requires delivery of underlying stocks to sell the corresponding quantity.

If account assets are insufficient, the platform may take the following measures:

1. Temporarily lend funds or underlying stocks to complete the exercise (may incur interest charges);

2. Force close before expiration, especially when holding put options but lacking sufficient stocks;

3. Cancel automatic exercise settings to avoid risk expansion.

✅ We recommend:
If you plan to hold until expiration, please prepare sufficient funds or underlying securities in advance, or actively close positions to avoid additional fees or risks due to insufficient assets.