News Centre

Hong Kong Securities And Futures Commission: Unlicensed Fund Manager Sentenced To Community Service

Date 29/04/2020

The Eastern Magistrates’ Court today sentenced Mr Yau Ka Fai to 240 hours of community service following his conviction for holding himself out as carrying on a business in asset management without a licence from the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC).

HKEX Senior Appointments

Date 29/04/2020

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) is today (Wednesday) pleased to announce a number of new senior appointments: 

Stephanie Lau, currently Senior Vice President, Listed Issuer Regulation, has been appointed Managing Director, Co-Head of IPO Vetting. Together with Lin Shi, Ms Lau will have oversight of all HKEX issuer listing applications. Ms Lau qualified as a lawyer in Hong Kong, as well as in England and Wales, and has 20 years of experience in corporate finance and listing related matters. Ms Lau will report to Bonnie Y Chan, Head of Listing.

ASIC Responds To Lenders’ Request For Clarification On Lending During The COVID-19 Pandemic

Date 29/04/2020

Lenders have written to ASIC seeking guidance on a number of matters around regulation of lending during the COVID-19 pandemic.

New Zealald Financial Markets Authority: WorkSafe Guidelines For Financial Services Businesses And Staff Under COVID-19 Alert Level 3

Date 29/04/2020

Under Level 3, financial services businesses and staff who can operate from home must continue to do so. Workplaces may be reopened if the work cannot be done from home and the workplace can operate consistently within public health guidance and ensure the appropriate protections for workers and where applicable customers. If you are unsure about what activities you can undertake, please contact the FMA or RBNZ.

COVID-19 And Financial Hardship: Retail Lenders’ Obligations And ASIC’s Expectations

Date 29/04/2020

ASIC is closely monitoring how lenders are assisting consumers who are experiencing financial difficulties due to COVID-19.

New Zealald Financial Markets Authority Suspends EncoreFX Licence Following Voluntary Administration

Date 29/04/2020

The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) has suspended the derivatives issuer licence of EncoreFX (NZ) Limited after the business was put into voluntary administration by its Canadian parent.

ASIC Enforcement Update July To December 2019

Date 29/04/2020

ASIC has today released its enforcement update report for the period 1 July 2019 to 31 December 2019.

APAC Deal Activity Continues To Show Resilience For Second Consecutive Week Ended 26 April 2020, Finds GlobalData

Date 29/04/2020

A total of 345 deals were announced in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region during the week ended 26 April 2020, an increase of 17.7% over the 293 deals announced during the previous week, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

Federal Appellate Court Upholds Enforcement Of IRS Summons Seeking Information Concerning Law Firm Clients Involved In Foreign Transactions

Date 29/04/2020

On April 24, 2020, a federal appellate court upheld an order enforcing an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) summons directed to the Taylor Lohmeyer Law Firm PLLC, the Department of Justice announced.  The summons directed the law firm to provide information about clients who used the law firm’s services to create and maintain foreign bank accounts and entities.  On appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld the trial court’s enforcement of the summons and rejected the law firm’s “blanket” claim that all responsive materials were protected by the attorney-client privilege.  It explained that revealing the fact that the clients participated in specific types of transactions would not necessarily reveal any confidential communication of legal advice protected by the attorney-client privilege.

IMF Executive Board Approves US$65.6 Million In Disbursements To Dominica, Grenada, And St. Lucia To Address COVID-19 Pandemic

Date 29/04/2020

• The IMF Executive Board approves three requests from Dominica, Grenada, and St. Lucia for emergency financial assistance to help address the challenges posed by COVID-19.
• The approval of the Board will make available a combined SDR 48 million (US$65.6 million) in emergency financing to help these three countries deal with the challenges posed by COVID-19.
• IMF financing support provides resources to the countries’ authorities for essential health-related expenditures and income support to ease the impact of COVID-19 on the population.
• To address the pandemic, the authorities announced measures to help employees and households, including income support to the unemployed, tax relief, and providing cash transfers to the most vulnerable and affected.
• Dominica, Grenada, and St. Lucia are members of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU), and the disbursements would support macroeconomic stability and facilitate the subsequent economic recovery of the region.