Typical LTV: Nasdaq vs HKEX.

There is no published loan-to-value for Nasdaq shares, nor for HKEX shares. LTV is a calculated output, driven by the characteristics of the specific position — free float, trading volume, volatility, concentration — and by the structure of the transaction. Two positions on the same exchange can carry materially different LTVs. The honest answer to “what LTV can I get?” is always “tell me about the position.”

That said, the exchange is not irrelevant. Several of the LTV variables are influenced by market-level characteristics — the depth of the float, the disclosure regime, the settlement infrastructure, the currency. Comparing a representative Nasdaq position with a representative HKEX position is a useful way to see how those market-level factors move the baseline. For the full framework, see Loan-to-Value Calibration.

What the exchange actually changes

Of the variables that drive LTV, three are meaningfully shaped by the listing market: the practical depth of the market in which a lender could liquidate, the disclosure regime that governs a substantial-holder pledge, and the currency of the position relative to the loan. The remaining variables — the specific issuer’s volatility, the size of the pledge relative to its own float, issuer-specific risk — are properties of the position, not the exchange.

Nasdaq-listed positions

For a large-capitalisation Nasdaq issuer with a broad free float and deep average daily volume, the market-level variables are favourable: a lender’s liquidation path is deep and predictable, the disclosure regime (Schedule 13D/13G and Section 16) is well-defined and well-understood by the market, and the position is denominated in US dollars — frequently the loan currency, removing the cross-currency variable. Positions of this kind sit at the more comfortable end of the calibration.

The Nasdaq baseline is not uniform, however. A recently-listed growth issuer with high volatility, a thin post-IPO float, and a large insider position is a materially different proposition from a mature large-cap — even on the same exchange. The exchange supports a deep market in principle; whether a specific Nasdaq position benefits from it depends on the issuer.

HKEX-listed positions

Hong Kong-listed positions span a wider range. At one end, the large H-share and blue-chip constituents are deep, liquid, and well-covered, with substantial two-way flow including through Stock Connect; these behave, for calibration purposes, much like large-cap developed-market positions. At the other end, a substantial share of HKEX issuers are closely held, with concentrated registers, modest free floats, and thinner trading — characteristics that tighten the LTV regardless of headline market capitalisation.

The disclosure regime (the Securities and Futures Ordinance, with substantial-shareholder notification from five percent) is well-defined, and the currency is typically the Hong Kong dollar — which, where the loan is advanced in US dollars or another currency, introduces the cross-currency variable and its associated haircut. See Cross-Currency Stock Loans.

The comparison is position-by-position

The reliable generalisation is narrow: a deep-float, high-volume, low-volatility position attracts a more comfortable LTV than a concentrated, thinly-traded, volatile one — and that is true on both exchanges. A blue-chip Hong Kong position and a large-cap Nasdaq position can sit close together; a thinly-traded small-cap on either exchange sits well below both. The exchange sets the context; the position sets the number.

For any individual position on either market, the calibration is conducted at the indicative-terms stage — typically within one to two business days — and produces a specific LTV against specified structural terms. A generic per-exchange figure would either be too wide to be useful or specific enough to mislead.