Hong Kong

Enforcement

HKEX Probes for Rule Violations by Retail IPO Investors

By Editors | 22/02/2021

Brokers involved in the New Horizon Health IPO have been asked to provide information on the retail investors who were allotted stocks.

AML / KYC

HK Banks Used to Launder Over HK$8bn in Scam Proceeds in 2020

By Editors | 21/02/2021

More than 10,000 bank accounts are believed to have been used in 2020 to collect and launder the funds before being channelled out of Hong Kong.

Securities / Derivatives

HK, Singapore on Alert for Social Media Fuelled Manipulation

By Manesh Samtani | 19/02/2021

The SFC has issued restriction notices against 54 more trading accounts. Singapore regulators are guarding against “pump and dump” and “short and distort” scenarios.

Big Picture

Singapore Rated Asia’s Top Regulatory System, Followed by Hong Kong

By Editors | 18/02/2021

Duff & Phelps survey respondents rated the UK as the world’s top regulatory regime, followed by Singapore and the US, which tied for second place.

AML / KYC

Hong Kong: GDF Warns Against Restricting Retail Investment in Crypto

By Manesh Samtani | 16/02/2021

The November FSTB proposal to only allow VASPs to offer services to professional investors could prompt retail investors to move to unlicensed platforms, GDF says.

Market Infrastructure

HKMA Raises Expectations for Bank Codes of Conduct

By Manesh Samtani | 14/02/2021

Codes of Conduct should include provisions to address conflicts of interest, promote a culture of accountability and encourage staff to report unethical practices.

Fintech / Regtech

HSBC, HKTVmall Join Forces to Enhance Access to Trade Finance

By Manesh Samtani | 11/02/2021

HSBC will leverage commercial data from HKTVmall to analyse and forecast business performance during credit assessment, making loan approval faster and simpler.

Enforcement

SFC Freezes Brokerage Accounts Linked to Social Media Scam

By Editors | 11/02/2021

One of the SFC’s top priorities for the year is to crack down on ramp and dump scams and other types of market manipulation conducted through social media.

Securities / Derivatives

HKEX Appoints JP Morgan’s Nicolas Aguzin as New CEO

By Manesh Samtani | 09/02/2021

Aguzin is expected to help HKEX continue to build its competitiveness and support the ongoing growth and development of Hong Kong’s financial markets.