REFILE-HK exchange mulls professional board -report

(Refiles to fix spelling of exchange in headline)

HONG KONG, April 25 (Reuters) - Hong Kong's stock exchange plans to launch a "professional board" for international companies to list their shares in the territory without having to conform to an extensive regulatory process, a Hong Kong newspaper reported on Friday.

The international firms could list in Hong Kong under a more flexible regulatory structure than the current model of the mainboard and second board, or Growth Enterprise Market (GEM), the South China Morning Post quoted Hong Kong bourse's chief executive Paul Chow as saying.

"A professional board will allow only professional investors to trade," Chow said, adding that a consultation would be held this year to discuss the definition of a professional investor.

The newspaper gave no further details.

"We aim to issue a consultation paper to consult the market before the end of this year," Henry Law, a spokesman for the Hong Kong bourse, said via telephone.

"It is very preliminary," Law said, but declined to comment further or give any time frame.

Shares of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (0388.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Asia's largest listed bourse and home to many of China's largest corporations, gained 1.75 percent to HK$162.80 early on Friday. (Reporting by Donny Kwok; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree)