On 9 October 2024, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) issued a circular (the Circular) stating its intention to place greater emphasis on the supervision of asset management firms and reminding personnel of their regulatory obligations, after it identified various deficiencies and substandard conduct in respect of the management of private
Daniel Cai
New depositary licensing regime takes effect
By Etelka Bogardi (HK) & Daniel Cai on
From 2 October 2024, trustees and custodians of collective investment schemes (CIS) operating in Hong Kong and authorised by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) for retail distribution must be licenced or registered to carry on the new Type 13 regulated activity (RA13) of “providing depository services for…
Joint conclusions paper on enhancements to the OTC derivatives reporting regime published
By Etelka Bogardi (HK) & Daniel Cai on
In a move to facilitate the international standardization and harmonization of data elements in line with the Group of 20’s over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives market reform, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) (together, the Regulators) jointly published, following a two-month consultation from…
FSTB publishes consultation conclusions and legislative proposals regarding paperless corporate communication for Hong Kong companies
By Etelka Bogardi (HK) & Daniel Cai on
On 25 September 2024, following a public consultation, the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB) published consultation conclusions and legislative proposals aimed at promoting paperless communication for Hong Kong companies. The final proposals largely mirror those in the original consultation paper and a draft amendment bill (Amendment Bill) to the…
HKMA launches Project Ensemble Sandbox to test tokenisation use cases in Hong Kong
By Etelka Bogardi (HK), Daniel Cai & Queenie Mok on
On 28 August 2024, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) launched the Project Ensemble Sandbox (Sandbox) to explore asset tokenisation use cases and the settlement of tokenised asset transactions. The Sandbox is a crucial component of Project Ensemble, which launched in March 2024, to explore new financial market infrastructure (FMI…
Hong Kong announces Stablecoin Consultation Conclusions and Sandbox Participants amid Web3 push
By Etelka Bogardi (HK), Daniel Cai & Nina Stammbach on
Last week, two major stablecoin announcements were made to support Hong Kong’s efforts in facilitating the responsible development of its virtual asset ecosystem.[1] On 17 July 2024, the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB) and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) jointly published consultation conclusions on the proposed regulatory…
MAS announces expansion industry collaboration to scale asset tokenisation for financial services
By Etelka Bogardi (HK) & Daniel Cai on
On 27 June 2024, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced the expansion of two initiatives to scale asset tokenisation for financial services.
Project Guardian
One of these initiatives – Project Guardian – involves partnering with global industry associations and financial institutions to drive common asset tokenisation standards in fixed income, foreign exchange…
BDF and HKMA announce wholesale CBDC collaboration
By Etelka Bogardi (HK) & Daniel Cai on
On 27 June 2024, the Banque de France (BDF) and the HKMA announced their collaboration in relation to wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC).
This latest collaboration between the two regulators is the HKMA’s participation in Wave 2 of the European Central Bank’s (ECB) Eurosystem exploratory work. The BDF and…
HKMA publishes reports on DeFi regulation and the metaverse
By Etelka Bogardi (HK) & Daniel Cai on
On 25 June 2024, the HKMA issued a press release announcing that the Hong Kong Institute for Monetary and Financial Research (HKIMR), the research arm of the Hong Kong Academy of Finance (AoF), has released two new research reports, on “Decentralised Finance: Current Landscape and Regulatory Developments” and “The Metaverse: Opportunities…
Singapore’s updated ML National Risk Assessment highlights digital payment token services providers as a higher risk sector
By Etelka Bogardi (HK) & Daniel Cai on
On 20 June 2024, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced the publication by Singapore of its updated Money Laundering (ML) National Risk Assessment (NRA), as part of its continuing efforts to maintain the effectiveness of its anti-money laundering (AML) regime amidst the evolving risk landscape.
The…