Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has just published its report for the quarter from July to September 2015, with the data pointing to continued interest of investment companies in obtaining licenses from the Hong Kong watchdog.
In the three months to September 30, 2015, the SFC received 2,416 licence applications, a number which is 33.9% higher from the preceding quarter and 20.9% higher from the same quarter last year.
In the three months to September 30, 2015, the total number of licensees and registrants rose 2.3% to 41,251. This is the highest result since the implementation of the Securities and Futures Ordinance regime on April 1, 2003.
Whereas the number of companies willing to get regulated by the SFC is growing, the oversight is also getting stricter.
The SFC said it disciplined three licensed corporations in the quarter to end-September, resulting in total fines of HK$19.9 million. The bulk of this sum reflects a HK$15 million fine imposed on BNP Paribas Securities (Asia) Limited for failures regarding its alternative liquidity pool trading services. In the end of July this year, the Hong Kong regulator fined Nomura International (Hong Kong) Limited HK$4.5 million for failing to report misconduct by a former trader in an accurate manner.
The SFC started 124 investigations in the three-month period, and completed 139 investigations. No criminal charges were raised.
To view the full report from the SFC, click here.