Hong Kong’s main financial regulator, the Securities and Futures Commission, said it has found “deficiencies” in the selling practices of licensed firms, after completing an inspection of companies selling investment products.
The authority which oversees Hong Kong’s Mandatory Provident Fund fund (MPF) operations is considering capping the fees MPF providers charge their customers, and has retained Ernst & Young to look into the pricing matter, according to a report published this morning.
Almost half of some 341 Mandatory Provident Funds surveyed by a Hong Kong consumer body posted negative annualised returns for the last five years, spotlighting the challenge ahead for company employees who next month will begin to have the option of choosing their MPF providers.
One in five Hong Kong investors has seen their net worth decline over the past six months, a survey conducted by HSBC has found.
Financial scams are on the rise in Hong Kong, the South China Morning Post is reporting, in a story which quotes deVere chief executive Nigel Green on what he calls “hard to fathom carbon credits” being sold “to vulnerable consumers”.
International accountancy firm Ernst & Young has been fined by the Dubai Financial Services Authority, while it is also facing action from the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong.
Hong Kongs Securities & Futures Commission has taken legal action against the Hong Kong arm of UK-based Big Four accounting firm Ernst & Young, for failing to produce key accounting records of a mainland company that had sought a stock market listing in Hong Kong three years ago.
Tightening regulation is restricting the investment choice financial advisers in Hong Kong are able to offer their clients and stifling their ability to do business, according to IFAs based in the territory.
Global banking giant Merrill Lynch has been fined HK$3.5m ($450,000, £290,000) by the Hong Kong financial regulator over a fraud committed by one of its former employees.
First State’s Martin Lau and Fidelity’s Anthony Bolton are two of the biggest names investing in China on behalf of UK investors, albeit for different reasons.
Hong Kong suffered a 10% decline in the total AUM of its fund management sector in 2011, an annual survey has revealed, although steps to strengthen its position as an offshore renminbi centre leave the jurisdiction in a good position, says its regulator.
French banking giant Société Générale is to repay more than $11m to customers in Hong Kong after the City watchdog reprimanded it for overcharging on certain over-the-counter investment products sold by its wealth management division.
