SFC
Legal Update – MMT sanctions against China Forestry Holdings Company Limited CEO for market misconduct – order to disgorge HKD353,430,000
On 28 November 2024, the Securities and Futures Commission (“SFC”) announced that the Market Misconduct Tribunal (“MMT”) ordered: 1) Mr. Li Han Chun, the former chief executive officer of China Forestry Holdings Company Limited (“China Forestry”), formerly listed on the Main Board of the Stock…Read More
Legal Update: Recognition Order Granted notwithstanding SFC’s Restrictive Notice and Police’s Letter of No Consent
Tanner De Witt acted for Chan Ho Yin (also known as Michael Chan) of Kroll (HK) Ltd and Elaine Hanrahan, the Joint Liquidators of Bull’s-Eye Limited (in Liquidation) (“BEL”) which was wound up in the BVI on 15 January 2024. BEL is a company connected…Read More
Legal update: Compensation and disqualification order granted against a company officer who did not receive misappropriated funds
Does it excuse misconduct in the eyes of a securities regulator if the company officer did not personally profit from and receive misappropriated funds? John Lee of Tanner De Witt explains that the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong (“SFC”) will still enforce, and…Read More
VATP regulation in Hong Kong: The regulatory perimeter
It is possible to apply to the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) in Hong Kong to obtain a licence to engage in activities relating to virtual assets. However, not all virtual asset services are regulated and require a licence from the SFC. So, the key…Read More
Legal Update – HKMA Consultation Conclusions on Crypto-assets and Stablecoins
On 31 January 2023, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (the “HKMA”) issued the consultation conclusions to its discussion paper published on 12 January 2022 (the “Consultation Conclusions”). The Consultation Conclusions provide critical insights into the shape of the HKMA plans for stablecoin regulation in Hong…Read More
Legal Update: Developments in virtual asset regulation in Hong Kong
In this snapshot legal update, we report on various announcements and policy updates announced during Hong Kong FintechWeek in respect of virtual assets (“VA”). On 31 October 2022, the Securities and Futures Commission (“SFC”) issued a circular on virtual asset futures exchange-traded funds (“VA Futures…Read More
Legal update: SFC review of online investment services
In this snapshot legal update, we report that on 31 August 2022, the Securities and Futures Commission issued a circular to licensed corporations in relation to the SFC’s review of online brokerage, distribution and advisory services (the “Circular”). The SFC conducted a review of the…Read More
Legal update: SFC Consultation on clarification to offering document exemptions
In this snapshot legal update, we report that on 10 June 2022, the SFC launched a public consultation exercise that includes a proposed clarification to an exemption from SFC authorisation for offering documents for securities. The Securities and Futures Ordinance prohibits the issue of advertisements…Read More
Term Sheets for Investment
1. What is a Term Sheet? A Term Sheet is a summary of the business, finance and legal terms that will apply to an investment round. Usually it is a not a legally binding document, except for a few provisions such as confidentiality, costs or…Read More
The new licensing regime for Virtual Asset Service Providers: The Amendment Bill
The long-awaited Virtual Asset Service Providers (“VASP”) licence regime is coming closer with the Hong Kong government gazetting the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing (Amendment) Bill 2022 on 24 June 2022 (“Bill”). We reported on the key points of the consultation and the conclusion (collectively,…Read More
Legal update: SFC warns of risks associated with NFTs
In this snapshot legal update, we report that on 6 June 2022, the SFC issued a warning regarding risks associated with investing in non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The SFC noted that NFTs have risks that are similar to other virtual assets. These include Illiquid secondary markets,…Read More
2022 Joint Circular of SFC and HKMA on Virtual Asset Dealing and Advisory Service
The Securities and Futures Commission (“SFC”) and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (“HKMA”) recently published a joint circular on intermediaries’ virtual asset-related activities on 28 January 2022 (the “Circular”). The Circular supersedes the earlier circular to intermediaries on distribution of virtual asset funds on 1…Read More