• Daily News Headlines – 21 Jul 2020

    Hong Kong needs to lift its regulatory game as China’s billionaires eye Singapore for its stability, cost advantages

    SCMP, 21 Jul 2020

    Hong Kong will need to step up its efforts to streamline regulations on family offices amid competition from Singapore and a series of political and economic setbacks in recent months, according to bankers and accountants. “For Hong Kong to compete, the government should further streamline its regulations to make it easier for family offices to set up here,” said Claude Haberer, chairman of Pictet Wealth Management Asia.

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    Pine Capital ordered to release review findings immediately

    Business Times, 21 Jul 2020

    Pine Capital appointed KordaMentha on July 15, 2019 as its independent reviewer to review allegations from various parties over ACPAM and its operations, including allegations regarding potential conflict of interest and possible lapses in internal control.

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    Acra seeking public feedback on proposed changes to Companies Act

    Business Times, 21 Jul 2020

    THE Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (Acra) on Monday said it is seeking public feedback on proposed amendments to the Companies Act.

    The Companies Act Working Group (CAWG), which was set up by Acra in 2018 to review several areas of the Act, has recommended 36 legislative reforms. These cover the areas of facilitating digitalisation, types of companies and financial reporting, matters relating to directors and company secretaries, safeguarding shareholders' interests, share capital and financial assistance, as well as updating outdated provisions.

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    China probes brokerages for low-price bids in bond underwriting

    Business Times, 21 Jul 2020

    Several Chinese securities brokerages including Guotai Junan Securities were under investigation of an industry association for allegedly making unusually low bids to underwrite CNNC Financial Leasing's bonds.

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    SEC Charges Financial Advisor with Fraud for Stealing Millions from Investors

    SEC, 20 Jul 2020

    The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged former registered representative and investment adviser Michael Barry Carter with fraud for stealing from brokerage customers and an elderly advisory client.

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    UBS to Pay $10 Million for Violating Rules Which Give Priority To Retail Investors in Municipal Offerings

    SEC, 20 Jul 2020

    According to the SEC’s order, over a four-year period, UBS improperly allocated bonds intended for retail customers to parties known in the industry as “flippers,” who then immediately resold or “flipped” the bonds to other broker-dealers at a profit.  The order finds that UBS registered representatives knew or should have known that flippers were not eligible for retail priority.

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    SEC Charges Silicon Valley Start-Up and CEO With Defrauding Investors

    SEC, 20 Jul 2020

    The SEC’s complaint alleges that from 2018 to 2019, Shaukat Shamim, the founder and CEO of YouPlus, a private company that purported to have developed a machine-learning tool to analyze videos on the internet, raised funds from investors while repeatedly misrepresenting the company’s financial condition.  According to the complaint, Shamim falsely told investors that YouPlus earned millions of dollars in annual revenue and had more than 100 customers, including Fortune 500 companies. 

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    CFTC Orders Florida Company to Pay $75,000 for Registration Violations

    CFTC, 20 Jul 2020

    The order finds that from April 2018 through September 2018, Southwest Group, through its website, offered transactions in off-exchange foreign currency (forex) on a financed basis to retail customers located throughout the United States who were ineligible contract participants. These retail forex transactions involved Vietnamese Dong or Iraqi Dinar.

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