Roger Harrold

SFC sets clear timeline for implementing an uncertificated securities market in Hong Kong The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) today releasedconsultation conclusions on its proposed subsidiary legislation, code and guidelines for implementing an uncertificated securities market (USM) in Hong Kong (Note 1). In response to market feedback, the SFC now proposes a 5-year timeline as follows: ·Subject to completing the legislative process, the USM regime will be implemented towards the end of 2025 (Note 2). ·Companies whose laws are compatible with the regime will have to transition to the new regime in batches by the end of 2030 (Note 3). ·A more detailed timeline will be set to ensure an orderly transition (Note 4). #capitalmarket #SFC #HongKong #securities #futures

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🆕 ZDR SG VCC Fund Update! 📈 The ZDR Investments SG VCC Fund has delivered a return of 7.99% over its first 11 months, concluding on July 31st. This equates to an annualized return of 8.76% p.a. ℹ️ The fund, domiciled in Singapore 🇸🇬, offers Southeast Asian investors the opportunity to invest in a diverse and extensive portfolio of commercial 🛒 real estate across the European Union 🇪🇺. For more details on the feeder-master fund structure and portfolio composition, please visit our website 🔗 zdrinvestments.sg #zdrinvestmentssgvcc #investments #convenienceretail #investmentfund

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FSDC Welcomes CSRC Measures Enhancing Hong Kong's Financial Market Hong Kong, April 25, 2024 – The Financial Services Development Council (FSDC) welcomes the recent five measures announced by the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) on April 19, 2024. These measures, aimed at expanding the mutual access between the capital markets of the Mainland and Hong Kong, reinforce Hong Kong's position as a leading international financial centre. The FSDC is particularly encouraged that four out of the five CSRC measures closely align with the policy recommendations outlined in the FSDC's research papers, namely, "Accelerating Offshore RMB Market Development: Enriching Hong Kong's Offerings as an International Financial Centre," published in March 2024, and "Revitalization of Hong Kong's Real Estate Investment Trusts Market - Promoting Liquidity," published in May 2021. Mr Laurence Li SC, Chairman of the FSDC, stated, "We are deeply appreciative of the CSRC's ongoing support and are encouraged to see our policy research work bearing fruit. The adoption of these measures signifies a remarkable step forward in strengthening the connectivity and competitiveness of both the Mainland and Hong Kong's capital markets. We anticipate that improvements in broadening liquidity, expanding product offerings, and fortifying risk management tools will drive substantial progress." #trust #realestate #FSDC #CSRC #Internationalfinancialcentre

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A better way to invest — the Endowus Employee Platform Solution enables fund management companies to provide their employees with access to their own full range of funds including employee share classes. “Ironically, employees of fund management companies may not have easy access to their employer’s funds. They often have to resort to regular distribution channels like brokerages or banks, investing in trailer-heavy retail share lasses of their own company’s funds.” - Samuel Rhee, Chairman and CIO of Endowus. A massive thank you to Asian Private Banker for featuring us and speaking in depth on our latest B2B endeavour. Read more here: https://hk.endw.us/3Li2mY6 Investment involves risk. Past performance is not an indicator nor a guarantee for future performance. Projected performance is not guaranteed. Please refer to our full disclaimer at https://sg.endow.us/mas. #EndowusSG #EndowusHK #CorporateInvestmentSolutions #InvestBetter

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MAS Rewrite, the next challenge The Monetary Authority of Singapore’s new version of its OTC derivative reporting, “MAS Rewrite”, will go live in October 2024. As MAS aims at aligning with other regulators, Rewrite introduces some concepts that we are already familiar with, following EMIR Refit implementation. We have identified, among the main points of attention: - alignment to global UTIs and UPIs standards - generalization (less exemption) of collateral reporting - reportable fields extension to 134 - reporting of FX Swaps as two separate transactions linked through the “swap link Id” - ISO 20022 XML messaging format More to come as we are getting prepared for the DTCC UATs on June 14th. https://lnkd.in/dRgTzywM #MAS #OTCderivatives #Regulation #Singapore #UTI #UPI #RegTech #TransactionReporting #RegulatoryReporting #RegulatoryCompliance

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We are delighted and honored to receive the following recognitions at the 2024 LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group) Lipper Fund Awards - Singapore: 🏆 Best Fund Over 3 Years – Bond USD 🏆 Best Fund Over 5 Years – Bond USD 🏆 Best Fund Over 10 Years – Bond Emerging Markets Global HC Moreover, we've secured the same distinctions in the Bond USD Category in both Taiwan and Hong Kong. These accolades embody the steadfast dedication and commitment of our investment teams to robust and in-depth research to find the most attractive investment opportunities, while leveraging upon our cohesive global platform to effectively capitalize on market inefficiencies. #FundAwards #Award_winning #Award #Fund #Invest #Money #Finance #Wealth #Income #FixedIncome #EmergingMarket #EM #EmergingMarketDebt #HardCurrency

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The Monetary Authority of Singapore has updated the Guidelines on Fair Dealing – Board and Senior Management Responsibilities for Delivering Fair Dealing Outcomes to Customers [FSG-G04] on 30 May 2024. A key change is that the scope of the Guidelines has been expanded to apply to all financial institutions, and all products and services they offer to their customers. In this update, Director Benedict Teo discusses the changes to the Guidelines and how the Boards and Senior Management of financial institutions may better ensure their internal processes are aligned with the updated Guidelines in order to achieve the Five Fair Dealing Outcomes. Read more here: https://bit.ly/3VxJH0y. 

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📈 We have advised leading Thai non-bank financial institution (#NBFI) Muangthai Capital Public Company Limited (MTC) on its debut issuance of US$335 million senior unsecured social bonds on the SGX. The offering of 6.875% amortising notes due 2028 represents a number of market firsts, including the first public market #socialbond from #Thailand and MTC as the first #ASEAN NBFI to access the US dollar markets. The proceeds of the transaction will be used to support eligible social projects focused on improving #financialinclusion, employment generation, and #foodsecurity and sustainable food systems under MTC's social bond framework. 👏 Congratulations to our team advising on this transaction: Gareth Deiner, Claire Neo, Stephanie Liman, Joel Sherard, Christian Hughes https://lnkd.in/gr85xMpB #ESG #CapitalMarkets

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HKMA Shares Good Practices to Support Basel III Implementation The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) encourages banks to maintain their momentum as the 1 January 2025 implementation date for certain aspects of Basel III approaches. https://lnkd.in/dZimt9st

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The JSDA will host the Asia Securities Forum (ASF*) Annual General Meeting 2024 in Tokyo on October 22 to 24, 2024. This is the first AGM to be held in Japan in seven years. Day 3 of the AGM (October 24) is an open conference, with speeches by experts from various sectors of the securities industry and panel discussions on financial literacy, stock markets and transition finance, with keen discussions on the future of securities markets in Asia-Oceania region. Although Day 3 (October 24) is open to anyone with an interest in securities markets, pre-registration is required to attend. Seats are limited, so please register early via the following website. We look forward to seeing you all there! https://lnkd.in/gVpajiaB   *Since its foundation in 1995, the ASF has provided its members with an open forum for the securities markets of the Asia-Oceania region. The ASF has brought together common interests for the region’s growing markets.   #AsiaSecuritiesForum #ASF #JSDA #CapitalMarket #TransitionFinance

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The China Securities Regulatory Commission has announced regulatory changes to enhance the Mutual Recognition of Funds (MRF) scheme. The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) said the enhancements will increase the maximum potential sales of Hong Kong funds on the Mainland “by three times”. https://lnkd.in/gasU9Uhu

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📢 SFC Publishes Annual Report on Hong Kong’s Asset and Wealth Management Industry 📢   On Friday 12th July 2024, the SFC published its annual Asset and Wealth Management Activities Survey (“AWMS”) for the year 2023.   The AWMS is one of the SFC’s initiatives aimed at obtaining comprehensive data from industry participants on areas such as assets under management (“AUM”), client demographics, investment strategies, geographical allocations, and other key metrics relevant for its regulatory oversight and market analysis purposes.   A summary of the key highlights and metrics within the published AWMS include:   ✅ In 2023, despite high interest rates, Hong Kong's asset and wealth management sector's AUM grew by 2.1% to HK$31,193 billion, and net fund inflows jumped 342% to HK$389 billion, largely driven by private banking and wealth management.   ✅ Hong Kong remains a trusted hub for international investors, with a geographically diverse investor base. International investors (outside of Hong Kong and Mainland China) have consistently accounted for 54-56% of the total assets under management.   ✅ The total number of SFC Licensed Corporations increased by 3% on the previous reporting year.   ✅ Asset managers in Hong Kong demonstrated a solid record of global asset allocation, with 60% of the assets managed being invested in other markets outside of Mainland China and Hong Kong.   ✅ Hong Kong-domiciled SFC-authorized funds saw net fund inflows growing by 93% year-on-year to HK$87 billion in 2023. In sustained momentum, HK$33 billion in net inflows in Q1 2024 was recorded, alongside a 5% increase in AUM in 2023 and a further 3% increase by Q1 2024.   ✅ Mainland China-related firms in asset and wealth management saw their AUM grow by 4% to HK$2,676 billion. These firms also experienced a 16% increase in net fund inflows to HK$153 billion and a 2% growth in staff headcount.   ✅ Driven by Hong Kong’s corporate fund structure and government grants, the number of registered open-ended fund companies (“OFCs”) increased by 118%. SFC-authorised ESG Funds also saw a 20% growth.   For more information, the full AWMS report can be accessed via https://lnkd.in/gsbvBa4j   Feel free to contact us via info@pcacompliance.com if you have any questions.   #HongKong #SFC #AssetManagement #WealthManagement #Report

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Hamilton Lane is collaborating with Alta Exchange (AltaX) and Phillip Securities Pte Ltd under the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)'s Project Guardian to enhance liquidity through tokenization. The three firms will collaborate on broadening access to the tokenized version of Hamilton Lane’s Senior Credit Opportunities (“SCOPE”) Fund. Listed on AltaX and launched in March 2023, SCOPE is a senior private credit vehicle that offers safety and yield for investors. Luke Lim, Managing Director of Phillip Securities, said the partnership represents "an exciting frontier for Phillip Securities as we continue to innovate and develop new investment products for our clients." "By combining our expertise and resources, we are able to bring cutting-edge solutions to meet the evolving and diverse needs of sophisticated investors," he added. The tokenization and listing of SCOPE on AltaX marked the completion of the first strategic phase for the partnership. Its first phase enabled accredited and institutional investors to manage risk, respond to market conditions, and engage with a global trading community. Phase two aims to broaden access to private credit by exploring the potential introduction of the world’s first Shariah-compliant tokenized private credit fund, targeting the growing global Islamic funds market. Victor (Ji Woong) Jung, head of digital assets at Hamilton Lane, said, "We are focused on continuing to innovate around this offering, opening doors to investors of all types and fostering a more inclusive financial ecosystem. In our view, this collaboration is poised to have a significant impact on private credit and the broader private markets landscape."

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Moomoo SG's Moofest 2024 Special Panel session shone a spotlight on global financial markets including Singapore, US, Hong Kong and Japan markets. Key takeaways from the panel: 🇭🇰 Adeline Ee, Managing Director & Head of Sales and Marketing, ASEAN, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX), shared some of the latest initiatives at Hong Kong Stock Exchange. "Our markets showcase how innovations are driving huge opportunities. With the launch of many innovative products such as Asia's first spot virtual asset ETFs, we offer investors more choices. Our structured products market is the world's largest by turnover for 17 consecutive years, and we have recently added US stock underlying, offering investors a broader selection of global opportunities.” 🇯🇵 Hiroki Kawai, Senior Executive Officer, Japan Exchange Group, shared: "Now is an opportune moment for retail investors to engage with the Japanese stock market. Our corporate transformation initiatives and increased shareholder returns are catalysts for growth." 🇺🇸 James McKeone, VP Investment Intelligence APAC, Nasdaq underscored the importance of innovation: "US companies like Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft, and Amazon lead the world in innovation. This innovation translates into significant growth opportunities for investors." 🇸🇬 Lily Chia, Head of Regional Equities & FICC Sales, SGX Group explained: "Interest rates have somewhat peaked, and there’s a revived interest in REITs. This surge in demand indicates a renewed confidence in the stability and income-generating potential of REITs." 📊 Echo Zhao, Country Head, eMoomoo SG, emphasised the role of technology and education in empowering modern investors. "By democratising access to sophisticated tools and insights, we ensure our investors are well-informed decision-makers." A big thank you to our distinguished panelists and moderator Goola Warden, The Edge Singapore, for their valuable contributions! Read more: https://lnkd.in/ga_aWt8P

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