Hong Kong

In a report to Congress, the Treasury said it has not identified any foreign FIs that "knowingly" conducted significant transactions with the ten individuals sanctioned in October.

Among the changes, the SFC proposes tougher requirements for advisers on Takeovers Code transactions, to address concerns about the poor quality of work in this area.

While the SFC's new FAQs on the use of cloud storage make compliance more manageable, licensed corporations still need to weigh their options, says Derek McGibney at Cognitive GRC.

The SFC will accept an undertaking from core function MICs as an alternative means of satisfying the requirement for a countersigned notice or undertaking from an EDSP.

The PBOC and HKMA will form a working group to study the framework for a southbound leg of Bond Connect. No timelines have been set.

The SFC has also adopted a more streamlined approach to compliance with requirements regarding vetting and approval of REIT-issued announcements and circulars.

Participating banks will need to assess physical risk and transition risk separately under different scenarios, and evaluate the financial impact in both the short term and long term.

The proposed investor ID regime is expected to be implemented in Q1 of 2022 at the earliest. A separate reporting regime is proposed for OTC securities transactions.

The HKMA is also exploring options to leverage the FPS to enable instantaneous cross-border payments, according to chief executive Eddie Yue.

Shareholders, secured creditors, unsecured creditors and employees of distressed companies will all end up with better outcomes under the proposed corporate rescue procedure.