Hong Kong

AML / KYC

Hong Kong: SME Director Pleads Guilty to Defrauding 5 Banks

By Editors | 02/04/2020

DBS, HSBC, ICBC, Dah Sing Bank and Wing Hang Bank were defrauded of about HK$47.5mn in loans and banking facilities.

Securities / Derivatives

Banks Scrap Dividends, Buybacks Amid Regulatory Pressure

By Manesh Samtani | 02/04/2020

HSBC and Standard Chartered are among the banks that have scrapped their 2019/2020 dividends and agreed not to buy back shares.

Securities / Derivatives

SFC, Stock Exchange Issue Guidance on Holding General Meetings

By Editors | 01/04/2020

Listed issuers should consider adjourning or delaying their general meetings until at least after 11 April, when the prohibition on group gatherings has ended.

Securities / Derivatives

HKFE Offers Cash to Market Makers in Mini Metals Futures

By Editors | 01/04/2020

A HKD 30,000 cash stipend is offered per contract per month per trading session upon fulfillment of quoting obligations in aluminium, zinc, copper and nickel mini futures contracts.

Enforcement

SFC Bans Former China Rise CEO for Naked Short Selling

By Editors | 01/04/2020

The ex-CEO was banned for 28 months for placing – and concealing – uncovered short selling orders through his personal account and a client’s discretionary account in 2014.

Securities / Derivatives

SFC Extends Deadlines on Three Regulatory Initiatives

By Editors | 31/03/2020

The deferred initiatives relate to new requirements on external data storage, client asset protection, and brokers’ systems for maintaining order life cycle data.

Market Infrastructure

Xiaomi-backed Virtual Bank Launches Hong Kong Pilot

By Editors | 31/03/2020

The pilot will allow 2,000 friends and relatives of Airstar, Xiaomi and AMTD Group employees to trial new virtual banking services under the HKMA’s sandbox.

Capital / Liquidity

HKMA Defers Basel III, Reviews ECL Provisioning Expectations

By Editors | 30/03/2020

Aside from deferring Basel III adoption, the HKMA is considering the implications of Covid-19 on the application of expected credit loss provisioning.

Market Infrastructure

A New Structure for Private Equity Funds in Hong Kong

By Su Cheen Chuah | 28/03/2020

The Limited Partnership Fund Bill will be seen by PE industry stakeholders as a positive step towards bringing Hong Kong’s active PE market onshore, says international law firm Deacons.