News Headlines
[Hong Kong] Revisions to
Money Service Operators Licensing Guide
C&ED Circulars, 26
Aug 2021
The Customs and Excise
Department published a revised Licensing Guide on 26 August 2021. The revised
licensing guide comes into immediate effect and applies to an applicant for
grant or renewal of a money service operator (“MSO”) licence or a licensee. It
explains new or renewal licence application procedures in details and sets out
notes on licensing requirements imposed on all MSO licence applicants and
licensees. A new section regarding ‘list of documents required in support of
the application for grant or renewal of an MSO licence’ was added.
Full text: click here
[Hong Kong] SFC and
Police conduct joint operation against listed company and senior executives in
$450 million corporate fraud case
SFC News, 27 Aug 2021
The Securities and
Futures Commission and Commercial Crime Bureau of the Police conducted a joint
operation against a Hong Kong-listed company and its former senior executives
suspected of a series of corporate fraud related offences involving a total of
$450 million. During the operation, the Police arrested two persons for
offences of conspiracy to defraud, theft and money-laundering. They are alleged
to have conspired with other persons to conduct fictitious transactions and/or
misappropriate funds from the listed company.
Full text: click here
[Hong Kong] SFC alerts
the public of unauthorised investment schemes
SFC News, 30 Aug 2021
The SFC launched a new
initiative to warn the public about arrangements which are suspected to be
collective investment schemes (CIS). A CIS may not be offered to the public in
Hong Kong without the SFC’s authorisation. Investment arrangements which have
come to the SFC’s attention and display certain characteristics of a CIS will
be included on a new Suspected Unauthorised CIS Alert List. These arrangements
may involve overseas real estate or non-conventional assets and investments
such as digital tokens and initial coin offerings.
Full text: click here;
Alert list: click here
[Hong Kong] SFC suspends
Cheung Man Chit for two years
SFC Enforcement news, 30
Aug 2021
The SFC has suspended Mr
Cheung Man Chit, a former licensed representative of Emperor Securities Limited
and Emperor Futures Limited (collectively, Emperor), for two years from 28
August 2021 to 27 August 2023. The SFC found that Cheung submitted false client
documents and information to Emperor, and stated in a client account opening
document that he witnessed the client’s signature when in fact he had not done
as claimed, he also transferred around $3.2 million client money through his
personal and related bank accounts and inputted incorrect information in
Emperor’s payment or deposit forms to facilitate the transfers. The SFC therefore
found that Cheung failed to inform the SFC and Emperor of his directorship and
proprietorship of two companies that he owned.
Full text: click here
[Mainland China]
Securities firms urged to focus on real economy
China Daily, 30 Aug 2021
China's securities
industry should concentrate on better serving the real economy and further
enhance compliance awareness and implementation so as to ensure the
high-quality development of the capital market, Li Chao, vice-chairman of the
China Securities Regulatory Commission, said at the 30-year celebration forum
for China's securities industry. Companies should improve their weak links and
eliminate loopholes in their governance as this is the only way to further
consolidate the foundation of the securities industry, Li said. In addition,
participants in the securities industry should accelerate their transformation
by making themselves more professional and focusing on active management.
Investment banks can make progress by improving their service quality on
sponsoring, pricing and underwriting.
Full text: click here
[Mainland China] First
mutual fund by wholly foreign owned company launched
China Daily, 30 Aug 2021
BlackRock Fund Management
Co Ltd, BlackRock's wholly owned mutual fund business in China, kicked off the
offering of BlackRock China New Horizon Mixed Securities Investment Fund on
Monday, aiming to raise money totaling between 200 million yuan and 8 billion
yuan. This has marked the first mutual fund offering by a wholly foreign owned
company in China, after BlackRock was approved to start a wholly owned onshore
mutual fund business in June.
Full text: click here
[Mainland China] China to
continue crackdown on cryptocurrency speculation
China Daily, 30 Aug 2021
China will continually
crack down on illegal fundraising and speculative trading related to
cryptocurrencies, according to an official from the People's Bank of China. The
PBOC will establish a normalized working mechanism, maintain tight regulations
and continue to crack down on relevant trade and speculative activities, Yin
Youping, deputy head of the PBOC Financial Consumer Protection Bureau, said at
a media briefing.
Full text: click here
[Mainland China] Regulator
urges funds to raise game
China Daily, 31 Aug 2021
The quality of investment
management and services should be further improved in the fund industry by
optimizing investment consulting, sales, trust, valuation, and assessment mechanisms,
said Yi Huiman, chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, at a
conference organized by the Asset Management Association of China. To ensure
stable development, mutual fund companies should further enhance their
compliance awareness while private equity firms should master the entire
process from seeking financing and investment to exit, said Yi.
Full text: click here
[Mainland China] China to
tighten scrutiny on 60t yuan fund industry
Business Times, 31 Aug
2021
China's top securities
regulator pledged to crack down on mismanaged private funds and weed out fake
ones, as the government becomes more assertive in dealing with an industry
worth 60 trillion yuan. Fund managers should align their interests more closely
with investors, and refrain from hyping their products, Yi Huiman, chairman of
the China Securities Regulatory Commission said. Despite a recent clean-up of
China's private fund industry, there are still many small and weak players
hampering the high-quality growth of the sector, Mr Yi said, adding that the
regulators will publish new rules in due course.
Full text: click here
Articles/
Publications
Thailand
securities regulator proposes new rules for digital asset firms
Asia
Asset Management News, 27 Aug 2021
Thailand's
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is proposing new rules for digital
asset firms in order to bolster investor protection, including requiring them
to deposit clients’ fiat money with banks. The firms will also have to develop
an encrypted automated system that allows customers to withdraw or transfer the
digital assets on command, and to ensure clients’ accounts cannot be accessed
by others. The accounts must also comply with the principles of decentralised
approval authority, multi-sign approval authority, and check and balance.
Full
text: click here
Singapore
bourse proposes compulsory climate disclosures
Asia
Asset Management News, 30 Aug 2021
The
Singapore Exchange (SGX) is proposing mandatory climate disclosures to be
phased in from next year to bolster companies’ resilience to climate risk. It
is also recommending that companies have a board diversity policy in place and
disclose related targets, plans and timelines in annual reports, in order to
enhance board diversity. The exchange is seeking public feedback on the
proposals, which were made by its regulatory unit, SGX RegCo. The regulator
wants the climate disclosures to be implemented in phases from the financial
years starting January 1, 2022.
Full
text: click here
