Regulatory Overview of the Hong Kong Financial Industry
Paper 1 begins by mapping who does what in Hong Kong's financial markets. Knowing the division of labour between the SFC, the HKMA and HKEX resolves a large share of exam questions before any detailed rule is applied.
The regulators and the market operator
The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) is the independent statutory regulator of the securities and futures markets, established under Part II of the SFO. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) is the front-line regulator of banks, including banks that carry on regulated activities as 'registered institutions'. Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) is the exchange controller that operates the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (SEHK), the Hong Kong Futures Exchange (HKFE) and the clearing houses; it runs the markets rather than regulating conduct.