The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) today published its latest Quarterly Report which summarises key developments from October to December 2020.
During the quarter, the SFC and the other members of the Green and Sustainable Finance Cross-Agency Steering Group released a strategy for strengthening Hong Kong’s financial ecosystem to support a greener and more sustainable future in the longer term. To advance one of the five action points set out in the strategy, the SFC launched a consultation in October on proposed requirements for fund managers to ensure that they properly handle climate-related risks and disclose them appropriately to investors.
In addition, the SFC published the conclusions to consultations on proposals to provide more flexibility for Hong Kong real estate investment trusts in making investments and on proposed anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism measures for open-ended fund companies.
Other highlights of the quarter included the launch of a consultation on a proposed investor identification regime for the Hong Kong securities market. The SFC also began a consultation on changes to the competency framework to update the SFC’s entry requirements for licence applicants and its ongoing competency standards.
In December, the SFC granted the first licence to a virtual asset trading platform in Hong Kong (Note 1).
Key figures for the quarter include:
- The number of licensees and registrants totalled 47,217, of which 3,122 were licensed corporations.
- The SFC conducted 74 in-depth inspections of licensed corporations to review their compliance with regulatory requirements.
- The SFC authorised 51 unit trusts and mutual funds, including 23 funds domiciled in Hong Kong, and 18 unlisted structured investment products for public offering.
- 34 new listing applications were vetted, including two from companies with a weighted voting rights structure and four from pre-profit biotech companies.
- The SFC issued section 179 directions (Note 2) to gather additional information in 10 cases and wrote to detail our concerns in two transactions as part of its review of corporate disclosures.
- Three licensed corporations and three individuals were disciplined, resulting in total fines of $2.72 billion.
- It made 2,157 requests for trading and account records triggered by untoward price and turnover movements.
The report is available on the SFC website.
Notes:
- The platform will only serve professional investors.
- Section 179 of the Securities and Futures Ordinance gives the SFC the power to compel the production of records and documents from persons related to a listed company.