China

Chinese regulators have applied a one year income tax exemption for mainland investors buying and selling Hong Kong funds through the mutual recognition of funds scheme.

Launched on 26 September for northbound trading, the investor identification regime will be introduced for southbound trading by the end of Q1 2019.

Trading and settlement issues will require "a very long period of discussion" to resolve, according to SFC chairman Tim Lui, adding that the focus will shift to enabling ETF cross listings.

China's National Audit Office has reportedly found that five financial institutions concealed a combined $189mn in bad loans by misclassifying them as performing.

US officials have asked Hong Kong to bolster sanctions enforcement as Huawei's deputy chairwoman stands accused of violating Iran sanctions through a Hong Kong shell company.

New rules for financial holding companies could include requirements on capital adequacy, caps on non-financial assets, and segregation of business units.

Chinese stock exchanges will work with HKEX to formulate rules enabling mainland investors' access to Hong Kong-listed dual class shares by mid-2019, after banning them in July.

The CBIRC has fined six banks a combined 156.3 million yuan for breaching rules on wealth management products, lending, and misleading advertising.

The launch has reportedly been delayed in connection with a Brexit parliamentary vote and a lack of clarity from Chinese regulators on technical issues.

The move to unify regulation of the bond markets under one authority is aimed at improving the overall regulatory system and preventing systemic risk.