[China] New rules to help lenders reduce risks

China Daily, 9 Oct 2020

China has issued new rules that seek to improve the ability of the country's global systemically important banks (G-SIBs) to absorb losses and adhere to the global regulatory standards on capital adequacy and liquidity by Jan 1, 2025, as part of the ongoing efforts to prevent systemic financial risks. The new policy will help China's G-SIBs, or banks that are deemed "too big to fail", to make the necessary plans to satisfy the Basel capital adequacy rules and help develop a multilevel capital market.

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[Hong Kong] Circular to Money Service Operators Anti-Money Laundering / Counter-Terrorist Financing (1) United Nations Sanctions (ISIL and Al-Qaida) Regulation (2) UNATMO (3) the DRC Amendment Regulation (4) the South Sudan Amendment Regulation

C&ED Circular, 9 Oct 2020

Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department issued a circular regarding the updated list of “individuals, groups, undertakings and entities” under the United Nations Sanctions (ISIL and Al-Qaida) Regulation and the updates of the list specifying terrorists and terrorist associates designated by the UNSC under the United Nations (Anti-Terrorism Measures) Ordinance. The circular also informs MSOs on the implementation of sanctions against the Democratic Republic of the Congo under ‘The United Nations Sanctions (Democratic Republic of the Congo) Regulation 2019 (Amendment) Regulation 2020’ and sanctions against South Sudan under ‘The United Nations Sanctions (South Sudan) Regulation 2019 (Amendment) Regulation 2020’. MSOs are also reminded to refer to Chapter 6 of the Guideline on Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Financing of Terrorism.

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[China] PBOC cuts shorting costs to curb surging yuan

The Standard, 12 Oct 2020

China's central bank said it will lower the reserve requirement ratio for financial institutions when conducting some foreign exchange forwards trading to zero with effect from today. Under current rules, financial institutions must set aside 20 percent of the previous month's yuan forwards settlement amount as foreign exchange risk reserves.

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[Hong Kong] Applicable Jurisdictional Countercyclical Capital Buffer (CCyB) Ratio for

Hong Kong

HKMA Circulars, 12 Oct 2020

The Monetary Authority announces, pursuant to section 3Q(3) of the Banking (Capital) Rules (Cap. 155L) (BCR), that the applicable jurisdictional countercyclical capital buffer (CCyB) ratio for Hong Kong remains unchanged at 1.0%.

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[Singapore] MAS extends facility to support lending by banks and finance companies to SMEs

MAS News, 12 Oct 2020

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced that it will extend the MAS SGD Facility for ESG Loans to complement the six-month extension of Enterprise Singapore (ESG)’s Temporary Bridging Loan Programme from 1 April 2021 to 30 September 2021.

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[Singapore] Opening Remarks by Mr Ong Chong Tee, Deputy Managing Director, Monetary Authority of Singapore, at the SIAS Corporate Governance Digital Symposium on 12 October 2020

MAS News, 12 Oct 2020

Mr Ong Chong Tee, MAS’ Deputy Managing Director, spoke on the ongoing pandemic and economic situations that have accentuated the importance of stakeholder engagement and partnerships between regulators and stakeholders in uplifting the standards of corporate governance in Singapore.

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[Hong Kong & China] Standard Chartered seeks brokerage licence in mainland China: Xinhua

Business Times, 12 Oct 2020

The Hong Kong unit of Standard Chartered has applied for a brokerage licence in mainland China. The China Securities Regulatory Commission, the country's top securities watchdog, had accepted the application from StanChart HK on Oct 10 to set up a securities firm in the mainland.

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[China] People's Bank of China says worsened US ties endangering financial network

The Standard, 12 Oct 2020

Worsening Sino-U.S. relations present huge risks to technology supply chain security for China’s financial network, Fan Yifei, a central bank vice governor said today, according to China Finance, a magazine run by the People’s Bank of China.

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[Singapore] Singapore’s First Centre of Excellence to Drive Asia-focused Green Finance Research and Talent Development

MAS News, 13 Oct 2020

Imperial College Business School and the Lee Kong Chian School of Business at Singapore Management University (SMU) launched the Singapore Green Finance Centre (SGFC). The SGFC is supported by the MAS and nine founding partners. This is Singapore’s first research institute dedicated to green finance research and talent development.

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[Singapore] “Harnessing the Power of Finance for a Sustainable Future”- Keynote Speech by Mr Ravi Menon, Managing Director, MAS, at the Financial Times Investing for Good Asia Digital Conference on 13 October 2020

MAS Speeches, 13 Oct 2020

Mr Ravi Menon, Managing Director of MAS, spoke on the opportunity to build a more resilient and sustainable world emerging from COVID-19, and provided an update on Singapore’s Green Finance Action Plan to facilitate Asia’s transition to a sustainable future.

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