Payments & Settlements

HKMA, BIS Innovation Lab Seek Solutions in Trade Finance

03/08/2020

Private firms are invited to submit innovative solutions that can help enhance trade finance mechanisms, connectivity and infrastructure.

Trading & Investment

China Mulls Allowing Domestic PE Funds to Invest Overseas

03/08/2020

The foreign exchange regulator will this year explore reforms to allow private equity investment funds to invest overseas.

Structural Regulation

Australia Consults on Reforms to Foreign Investment Framework

03/08/2020

Foreign investors will face national security checks regardless of the value of their investments, subject to enhanced monitoring, investigative and enforcement powers of the Treasury.

Structural Regulation

PBOC Pushes for Antitrust Probe into Alipay, WeChat Pay

03/08/2020

The State Council’s antitrust committee has reportedly been collecting information on the two payments giants for over a month but has not yet decided whether to launch a probe.

Fraud, Scams & Cybercrime

ATO Commences Pilot Audit of Early Super Withdrawal Scheme

03/08/2020

The tax office is contacting Australians who withdrew their superannuation funds early to assess if the need was genuine, and whether they should be penalised.

Anti-Money Laundering

Ex Coutts Banker Fined Over $700m 1MDB Transfer

03/08/2020

The former Coutts & Co banker approved a $700mn transfer request from Jho Low, the alleged mastermind behind the 1MDB scandal, despite repeated red flags.

Trading & Investment

HKMA Relaxes Rules on Retail Sales of Government Bonds

02/08/2020

Banks can forgo suitability assessments and audio recordings when distributing low-risk, non-complex retail tranches of Hong Kong or Mainland government bonds.

Conduct, Culture & Accountability

BSP Pilot Tests New Chatbot for Consumer Complaints

31/07/2020

The chatbot can handle queries and complaints from consumers sent through chat via the BSP website, SMS, or Facebook messenger.

Payments & Settlements

Italian Banks Adopt Blockchain to Reconcile Interbank Transactions

31/07/2020

55 banks are using a blockchain platform to share interbank transfer data and reconcile transactions, an initiative made possible by a rule change last May.