Hong Kong regulators recently brought criminal enforcement actions against virtual asset trading platform JPEX and individuals associated with the platform. This case has become the first opportunity for local authorities to...more
A Hong Kong court has for the first time convicted and imprisoned an individual for obstructing employees of the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) in performance of their functions pursuant to the Securities and Futures...more
The Court of First Instance has dismissed a judicial review application against certain provisions in the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571) (SFO) which empower the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) to issue...more
On 24 June 2022, the Hong Kong government published in the Gazette the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing (Amendment) Bill 2022 (Amendment Bill). The Amendment Bill proposes amendments to the Anti-Money...more
Hong Kong government issued a consultation to implement a new regulatory framework requiring virtual asset exchanges to be regulated by the SFC - Key Points: ..The Hong Kong Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau...more
Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission’s introduces new licensing regime to regulate previously unregulated markets and restates expectations regarding security token offerings. The second day of Hong Kong Fintech...more
The SFC’s consultation conclusions carve out non-financial groups and multilateral portfolio compression services. On 12 June 2020, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) published its conclusions (Consultation...more
The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission has released a number of circulars relating to COVID-19, including March 31 guidance on licensing and ongoing compliance matters. This LawFlash provides an overview of the...more
The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) issued a circular (Circular) on January 7, 2020, which clarifies that private equity firms conducting, or holding themselves out as conducting, regulated activities in...more
In recent years, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has increasingly focused on private equity funds’ obligation to be licensed under the Securities and Futures Ordinance (SFO). In February 2019, the SFC’s...more
In light of an increasing demand for virtual asset investment products, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has been taking steps to clarify the legal and regulatory requirements for this market. In this...more
The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has announced that it reprimanded and fined a Hong Kong private equity firm, SEAVI Advent Ocean Private Equity Limited (PE Firm), for employing or appointing unlicensed...more
Key Points - - Amended Hong Kong Securities and Futures Ordinance expands existing type 9 Regulated Activity (Asset Management) to cover management of OTC derivative products. - A Type 9 licenseholder managing...more
What is crowd-funding? “Crowd-funding” is an umbrella term describing the use of small amounts of money, obtained from a large number of individuals or organisations, to fund a project, a business or personal loan, and...more
On August 13, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (HKSFC) issued a circular describing the application procedure for certain licensed corporations to deal directly with customers in the United States pursuant to...more