Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has earlier today published its Quarterly Report April–June 2015, with the data pointing to continued interest in the regional market, given the increased number of licensing applications received.
SFC received 1,805 licence applications in the April-June 2015 quarter, up only 1% from the preceding quarter but up significant 15.1% year-on-year.
The total number of licensees and registrants increased 2.6% year-on-year to 40,321 as at June 30, 2015.
Complaints
The number of complaints against intermediaries and market activities that SFC received in the April-June 2015 period amounted to 562. This is a significant number, which, however, lags behind the 855 complaints the watchdog received in the preceding quarter. Most complaints concerned listing-related matters and disclosures of interest, whereas 35 complaints concerned unlicensed activities, and 51 complaints were about market misconduct.
The regulator prosecuted two corporations and seven individuals for market misconduct and disciplined eight licensees. Its disciplinary actions during the quarter resulted in total fines of HK$14.5 million ($1.87 million).
More renminbi products
During the quarter the number of Renminbi Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (RQFII)/Stock Connect products continued to grow. The SFC authorized four unlisted RQFII/Stock Connect funds and one RQFII/Stock Connect exchange-traded fund (ETF)1 this quarter. This brought the total number of SFC-authorized RQFII/Stock Connect unlisted funds and ETFs to 72 and 21, respectively, as of June 30, 2015.
To view the full report by the SFC, click here.