[Hong Kong] Consultation on annual update to the
list of Financial Services Providers under the OTC derivatives regulatory
regime
SFC News, 15 Apr 2021
The HKMA and the SFC issued a joint consultation on
the annual update to the list of Financial Services Providers under the
over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives clearing regime. An additional entity, TD
Global Finance Unlimited Company, is proposed to be included on the list, and
an entity, DB Privat- und Firmenkundenbank AG, is proposed to be removed.
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[Hong Kong] SFC reprimands and fines Optimas
Capital Limited $1.05 million over short position reporting failures
SFC Enforcement News, 15 Apr 2021
The SFC has reprimanded Optimas Capital Limited and
fined it $1.05 million over failures to ensure short position reports (SPRs)
for a collective investment scheme (CIS) under its management were accurate and
compliant with the requirements under the Securities and Futures (Short
Position Reporting) Rules. An SFC investigation following a self-report by
Optimas found that a total of 350 reportable short positions held by the CIS
had been omitted in 56 SPRs prepared and submitted by Optimas to the SFC
between 23 June 2017 and 9 July 2018. The errors found in the SPRs prepared by
Optimas occurred as a result of a programming mistake in a script developed by
its operations manager at the material time.
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text: click here
[Mainland China] Commercial banks
embrace 'open banking' innovation
China Daily, 19
Apr 2021
Chinese commercial
banks are embracing "open banking" as an innovative way of energizing
industries and making people's lives easier. Open banking is a banking practice
that gives third-party financial service providers open access to consumer
banking, transaction and other financial data from banks and non-bank financial
institutions through the use of application programming interfaces. The new
model enables third-party financial service providers, which are typically tech
startups and online financial service providers, to provide better solutions
for businesses in various sectors and people by allowing them to make use of
financial data more easily and efficiently.
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[Mainland
China] China set to expand digital currency trials
China
Daily, 20 Apr 2021
China will further
expand trials of e-CNY, the digital currency floated by the People's Bank of
China, and tighten regulations on privately-created cryptocurrencies, such as
Bitcoin and Stablecoin, according to officials and experts. China considers
Bitcoin and Stablecoin as cryptoassets, which means they are not seen as real
currencies, but only as investment assets. The nation is planning to improve
the regulatory environment for these alternative investments, to ensure that
speculative activity will not result in serious financial risks, said PBOC
Vice-Governor Li Bo.
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