
Manesh Samtani is the Editor at Regulation Asia, where he leads the regional news desk from Hong Kong, directing coverage of critical regulatory developments impacting financial services across APAC. Manesh specialises in analysing how new rules and technologies are reshaping banking, capital markets, and the fight against financial crime, providing finance professionals, compliance leaders, and policymakers with the intelligence they need to navigate risk and understand the impact of regulatory change in the region. manesh@regulationasia.com

Capital / Liquidity
Korea Finalises Industry Rules to Improve Bank Lending Standards
01/01/2025
The self-regulatory rules strengthen verification procedures for loan documents, collateral value, lease agreements, and use of funds monitoring.

Market Infrastructure
Taiwan, Japan to Launch First Cross-border ETF in Q3 2025
01/01/2025
New FSC recognition paves the way for Taiwanese ETFs to be brought into the Japanese market for the first time

Fintech / Regtech
Taiwan FSC Relaxes Policy on Digital Insurer Licensing
31/12/2024
Digital insurers allowed to operate physical branches. Paid-in capital requirement halved. Foreign providers can apply to open Taiwan branch.

Crypto / Digital Assets
Cambodia Issues New Regulatory Framework for Crypto
30/12/2024
Banks can only have direct exposure to Group 1 cryptoassets. Services offered to customers can include other cryptoassets.

Securities / Derivatives
Korea Sees Growing Participation in Corporate Value-Up Programme
30/12/2024
99 firms have now made value-up disclosures, including 27 in December alone, with more companies saying they will participate “as soon as possible”.

AML / KYC
HKMA Directs Banks to Implement More Anti-Scam Measures
28/12/2024
HKMA says banks should seek Police assistance and consider holding the transaction if they believe a customer is being scammed.

Fintech / Regtech
South Korea Passed Law to Establish Regulatory Framework for AI
28/12/2024
The passage of the AI Basic Act makes Korea just the second jurisdiction in the world after the EU to establish a comprehensive legal framework specifically governing AI

AML / KYC
Japan FSA Orders AEON Bank to Improve AML/CFT Systems
27/12/2024
The FSA said AEON Bank neglected at least 14,639 transactions detected by its surveillance system and takes too long to report suspicious transactions

ESG / Sustainability
China Finalises Sustainability Disclosures Standards for Enterprises
27/12/2024
The so-called ‘Basic Standards’, designed to align with IFRS S1, will initially be implemented by enterprises on a voluntary basis.

ESG / Sustainability
HKEX Will Adopt Changes to Corporate Governance Code
26/12/2024
HKEX will cap the number of board seats that INEDs can hold at six and limit the duration of their tenure to nine years.
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