HKSI Licensing Examination Paper 1 (Regulation) — All Questions

A 'wash sale', which can constitute false trading, is a transaction that:

• a.Is settled in cash rather than shares
• b.Always results in a genuine realised profit for the seller once the trade settles
• c.Is executed by a foreign broker
• d.Does not involve any change in the beneficial ownership of the securities✓

A wash sale is a transaction that does not involve a change in beneficial ownership - the same person is effectively on both sides. The SFO presumes such transactions create a false or misleading appearance of active trading, supporting a false-trading finding (Part XIII/XIV).

Two persons agree that one will place a buy order and the other a matching sell order for the same quantity at the same price and time, to inflate apparent turnover. This is best described as:

• a.Legitimate market making
• b.A breach only of the firm's own internal dealing policy
• c.A permitted block trade
• d.Matched orders amounting to false trading✓

Matched orders - buy and sell orders of substantially the same size, price and timing arranged between colluding parties - create a misleading appearance of active trading and constitute false trading under Part XIII/XIV of the SFO.

Which conduct falls specifically under 'price rigging' as defined in the SFO?

• a.Publishing an accurate research report
• b.Selling shares to realise a genuine loss
• c.Merely filing a substantial shareholder disclosure of interest notice with the Exchange a few days later than the permitted three business days
• d.A wash sale, or a fictitious or artificial transaction, that maintains, increases, reduces or stabilises the price of securities✓

Price rigging covers a wash sale that maintains, increases, reduces or stabilises the price of securities, and fictitious or artificial transactions that affect the price. It targets manipulation of price rather than merely the appearance of activity (SFO Part XIII/XIV).

The distinguishing feature of 'stock market manipulation' under the SFO is that the person:

• a.Effects two or more transactions that raise, lower or maintain the price, intending to induce others to deal✓
• b.Buys shares in a single genuine transaction for long-term investment without any intention to influence others
• c.Fails to disclose a substantial shareholding
• d.Provides accurate information to the SFC

Stock market manipulation involves effecting two or more transactions in a corporation's securities that increase, reduce, maintain or stabilise the price, with the intention of inducing others to buy or sell. The purpose of influencing other investors is the hallmark of this offence (SFO Part XIII/XIV).

How does 'stock market manipulation' differ from 'false trading'?

• a.There is no difference; the terms are identical
• b.Manipulation is civil only and false trading is criminal only
• c.False trading applies exclusively to debt securities such as bonds, whereas stock market manipulation is confined only to ordinary listed equity shares
• d.Manipulation focuses on moving the price to induce others to deal, while false trading focuses on creating a misleading appearance of active trading✓

Both are forms of market misconduct, but stock market manipulation centres on transactions intended to move the price and induce others to trade, whereas false trading centres on creating a false or misleading appearance of active trading or of the market. Each exists in both civil (Part XIII) and criminal (Part XIV) form.

The market-misconduct form 'disclosure of information about prohibited transactions' targets a person who:

• a.Simply advises a client, honestly and in good faith, not to buy a particular listed stock because its prospects appear poor in the current market conditions
• b.Publishes a company's audited accounts
• c.Reports a suspicious transaction to the JFIU
• d.Circulates information that the price of securities will move because of a prohibited transaction, expecting a benefit for themselves or an associate✓

This form of market misconduct catches a person who discloses or circulates information that the price of securities will be affected by a prohibited transaction (such as false trading or manipulation) carried out by them or an associate, where they expect to benefit. It is aimed at those who profit by publicising their own manipulation (SFO Part XIII/XIV).

A person spreads a false rumour on social media that a listed company is about to be taken over, in order to push up its share price. Under the SFO this is most directly:

• a.Insider dealing
• b.Merely a technical breach of the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance only
• c.Disclosure of false or misleading information inducing transactions✓
• d.A permitted expression of opinion

Disseminating information that is false or misleading in a material particular, and likely to induce dealing or to affect the price, is the market-misconduct form 'disclosure of false or misleading information inducing transactions' (SFO Part XIII/XIV). Spreading false takeover rumours to move a price is a classic example.

For the offence of disclosing false or misleading information inducing transactions, the required state of mind is that the person, at the time of disclosure:

• a.Had made a genuine profit
• b.Intended to help the company
• c.Was genuinely acting under the express written instructions of the SFC at the relevant time of disclosure
• d.Knew the information was false or misleading, or was reckless or negligent as to whether it was✓

The offence is made out where the person knew that, or was reckless or negligent as to whether, the information was false or misleading in a material particular. Negligence suffices, making this a comparatively broad market-misconduct provision (SFO Part XIII/XIV).

Criminal market-misconduct offences under Part XIV of the SFO are prosecuted:

• a.By the Companies Registry
• b.In the criminal courts, on prosecution brought by or on behalf of the authorities (e.g. the Department of Justice / SFC)✓
• c.By the Market Misconduct Tribunal, sitting as a criminal court with the power to convict offenders and impose imprisonment
• d.By HKEX's disciplinary committee

Part XIV creates criminal offences that are tried in the ordinary criminal courts, not the MMT. Prosecutions may be brought by the SFC (summarily) or on indictment by the Department of Justice, and conviction can lead to imprisonment and fines.

A finding by the Market Misconduct Tribunal that a person engaged in market misconduct:

• a.Is a civil determination and does not, of itself, give the person a criminal record✓
• b.Amounts to a criminal conviction and criminal record
• c.Can result in a term of imprisonment being imposed directly by the tribunal upon the person
• d.Can only be made with the person's consent

MMT proceedings are civil. A finding of market misconduct is not a criminal conviction and does not create a criminal record, although it can lead to civil sanctions and consequential SFC disciplinary action. Criminal consequences arise only under the Part XIV route.

A disgorgement order made by the MMT requires the wrongdoer to:

• a.Serve community service
• b.Pay to the Government an amount equal to the profit gained or loss avoided through the misconduct✓
• c.Pay monetary compensation directly to each and every investor who traded in the market on that day
• d.Surrender their passport permanently

A disgorgement order requires the person to give up the profit gained or loss avoided as a result of the market misconduct, payable to the Government. It is restitutionary in nature and is one of the civil orders available to the MMT under Part XIII of the SFO.

A disqualification order made by the MMT can bar a person from being a director or being involved in the management of a listed corporation for a period of up to:

• a.5 years✓
• b.3 months
• c.1 year
• d.Life, in every case

The MMT may make a disqualification order for a period of up to five years, prohibiting the person from being a director or otherwise involved in the management of a corporation without leave of the court. It is a key civil deterrent under Part XIII of the SFO.

Separately from the six forms of market misconduct, Part XIVA of the SFO requires a listed corporation to disclose 'inside information' to the public:

• a.Only once a year in its annual report
• b.Within 30 days of its next board meeting
• c.As soon as reasonably practicable after the information comes to its knowledge✓
• d.Only if and when a shareholder specifically writes in to request the information first

Part XIVA imposes a statutory obligation on listed corporations to disclose inside information to the public as soon as reasonably practicable after it comes to their knowledge, unless a safe harbour applies. This promotes timely, market-wide disclosure and reduces the scope for insider dealing.

'Inside information' under the Part XIVA disclosure regime is, in essence:

• a.Any information that has already been fully published in the newspapers and is therefore generally known to all of the market participants who regularly deal in the securities concerned
• b.Specific information about the corporation not generally known to the market that would, if generally known, be likely to materially affect the price of its securities✓
• c.Only the company's audited annual accounts
• d.Any internal email of the company

Inside information mirrors the concept of 'relevant information' in insider dealing: specific information about the corporation (or its securities) that is not generally known but would, if known, be likely to have a material effect on price. Its timely disclosure is required under Part XIVA of the SFO.

A breach of the Part XIVA duty to disclose inside information is dealt with by:

• a.The Market Misconduct Tribunal, which may impose a regulatory fine (up to HK$8 million) and other civil sanctions✓
• b.Automatic delisting of the company
• c.Arbitration organised by HKEX
• d.A criminal trial in the ordinary courts automatically leading to mandatory imprisonment of the responsible directors

Enforcement of the Part XIVA inside-information disclosure obligation is through the civil MMT, which can impose a regulatory fine of up to HK$8 million on the corporation and responsible officers, along with other orders. It is a civil, not criminal, regime.

A listed corporation may rely on a 'safe harbour' to delay disclosing inside information under Part XIVA where, for example:

• a.The information is favourable to the share price
• b.The company has not held a board meeting that month
• c.Disclosure would prejudice incomplete negotiations, and confidentiality has been preserved✓
• d.The directors would simply prefer, for their own convenience, to keep the good news to themselves for now

Part XIVA provides safe harbours permitting a temporary withholding of disclosure - for instance where the information concerns an incomplete proposal or negotiation and confidentiality is preserved. A mere preference for secrecy is not a valid ground.

The insider-dealing concept of 'relevant information' requires the information to be, among other things:

• a.Specific, not generally known to market participants, and price-sensitive✓
• b.Contained only in the annual report
• c.A matter of the dealer's personal opinion
• d.General market commentary that is already widely circulating among investors

Relevant information must be specific information about the corporation or its securities, not generally known to the persons who deal in those securities, which if generally known would be likely to materially affect the price. Once it is public it can no longer found an insider-dealing case (SFO Part XIII/XIV).

The overriding purpose of the market-misconduct provisions in the SFO is to:

• a.Protect the integrity of the market and maintain a fair, informed and orderly market✓
• b.Guarantee that investors never lose money
• c.Raise additional general revenue for the Government through the collection of civil fines
• d.Fix the price of listed shares

The market-misconduct regime protects market integrity and investor confidence by ensuring prices reflect genuine supply and demand and publicly available information, not manipulation or the misuse of non-public information. It does not guarantee investment outcomes.

The market-misconduct provisions of the SFO apply to dealings in:

• a.Residential property only
• b.Physical commodities only
• c.Physical foreign currency banknotes and coins exchanged at licensed money changers only
• d.Securities and futures contracts (and related instruments) traded in Hong Kong✓

Market misconduct under Parts XIII and XIV covers securities and futures contracts and related instruments. Manipulation and false-trading provisions extend to the futures market as well as the securities market, protecting both.

In addition to persons who directly engage in market misconduct, the SFO can reach a person who:

• a.Merely holds shares in the company passively as an ordinary long-term investor
• b.Reports the misconduct to the SFC
• c.Reads about the misconduct in the press
• d.Assists or is knowingly involved in the market misconduct of another✓

A person who aids, abets, counsels, procures or is otherwise knowingly involved in another's market misconduct can also be the subject of MMT orders. Liability is not limited to the person who physically executed the trades (SFO Part XIII/XIV).

The use of fraudulent or deceptive devices in transactions in securities or futures is:

• a.Regulated solely by the Listing Rules
• b.Only a civil matter before the MMT
• c.Permitted so long as it is disclosed to the counterparty
• d.A criminal offence under Part XIV of the SFO✓

The SFO criminalises the use of any fraudulent or deceptive device, scheme or artifice in transactions in securities or futures contracts (Part XIV). This broad anti-fraud provision supplements the specific market-misconduct forms.

The MMT may, in addition to its principal orders, require a person found to have engaged in market misconduct to:

• a.Pay the costs and expenses of the proceedings and of the SFC's investigation✓
• b.Personally guarantee the share price for a year
• c.Publish an apology in every newspaper worldwide
• d.Buy back all of the shares that were traded in the market on that particular day

The MMT can order the person to pay the costs of the tribunal proceedings and the SFC's investigation costs, in addition to disgorgement, disqualification and cold-shoulder orders. These are civil consequences under Part XIII of the SFO.

A fund manager is found by the MMT to have engaged in insider dealing. Beyond the tribunal's own orders, what further consequence is likely?

• a.An automatic pardon after one year
• b.SFC disciplinary action, as the conduct calls the manager's fitness and properness into question✓
• c.Nothing further can happen at all, because the MMT is said to have exclusive jurisdiction over the person
• d.Guaranteed re-licensing by the SFC

A market-misconduct finding bears directly on whether a licensed person remains fit and proper. The SFC can take separate disciplinary action - reprimand, fine, suspension or revocation of licence - in addition to the MMT's civil orders.

'Dealing' in securities, for the purposes of the insider-dealing provisions, includes:

• a.Only sales, never purchases
• b.Only transactions above HK$1 million
• c.Only outright cash purchases of listed shares made by an individual acting personally as principal for investment
• d.Buying, selling, subscribing for, or agreeing to buy or sell the securities, whether as principal or agent✓

Dealing is defined broadly to include buying, selling, subscribing for or underwriting securities, and agreeing to do any of these, whether as principal or agent. This wide scope ensures the insider-dealing prohibition cannot be avoided through technical structuring (SFO Part XIII/XIV).

Which statement about the civil and criminal market-misconduct regimes is correct?

• a.The two regimes cover the same six forms of conduct, but differ in tribunal, standard of proof and available sanctions✓
• b.The MMT can impose imprisonment while the courts cannot
• c.Only the criminal regime can order disgorgement of profits
• d.The civil regime applies only to listed shares, whereas the criminal regime is confined only to exchange-traded futures contracts

The same six forms of market misconduct exist in parallel civil (Part XIII, before the MMT, on the balance of probabilities) and criminal (Part XIV, in the courts, beyond reasonable doubt) forms. They differ chiefly in forum, standard of proof and the sanctions available.

Insider dealing is objectionable primarily because it:

• a.Undermines the fairness and integrity of the market by allowing those with privileged non-public information to profit at others' expense✓
• b.Reduces market trading volumes to zero
• c.Increases the company's audit fees
• d.Is objectionable mainly because it amounts to a breach of the listed company's own internally adopted dividend distribution policy and rules

The mischief of insider dealing is that it allows connected persons to exploit price-sensitive information not available to the general market, eroding confidence in a fair and level playing field. Protecting that fairness is a core SFC regulatory objective.

A company director learns of an unexpected, large, unannounced profit and buys the company's shares before the results are released. This is most likely:

• a.Insider dealing, as a connected person dealing while in possession of relevant, price-sensitive information✓
• b.Lawful in every case, because company directors are always fully entitled to trade in the shares of their own company
• c.A mere breach of etiquette
• d.Permissible if the trade is small

The director is a connected person dealing while in possession of specific, price-sensitive information not generally known. Absent a statutory defence, this is insider dealing under Part XIII/XIV of the SFO, regardless of the size of the trade.

Proceedings before the Market Misconduct Tribunal are commenced:

• a.By the SFC instituting proceedings, following which the tribunal conducts an inquiry✓
• b.Only by a private investor filing a lawsuit
• c.Automatically whenever a listed company share price happens to move sharply in a single day
• d.By HKEX referring the matter to a jury

MMT proceedings are instituted by the SFC. The tribunal then conducts an inquiry to determine whether market misconduct has taken place, who was involved, and what orders should be made under Part XIII of the SFO.

Which of the following would most likely amount to price rigging rather than insider dealing?

• a.A tippee dealing on a leaked takeover plan
• b.An employee quietly buying up company shares just before the public release of an unexpected profit warning to the market
• c.A director trading on unannounced results
• d.A trader entering a series of transactions with no genuine change in ownership designed to peg the closing price of a stock✓

Entering transactions that maintain or stabilise a price - especially wash sales or fictitious transactions that affect price without genuine change of ownership - is price rigging. The other options involve dealing on non-public, price-sensitive information, which is insider dealing (SFO Part XIII/XIV).

Which body ultimately decides whether to pursue a suspected case of market misconduct through the civil or the criminal route?

• a.The Companies Registry
• b.HKEX's Listing Committee
• c.The Securities and Futures Commission✓
• d.The Market Misconduct Tribunal itself

The SFC, as the market regulator, decides whether to institute civil proceedings before the MMT or to pursue criminal prosecution under Part XIV (with the Department of Justice for indictable cases). It cannot use both routes for the same conduct.

Equity securities on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong may be listed on:

• a.The Main Board or GEM (Growth Enterprise Market)✓
• b.The Main Board only, since GEM has now been abolished
• c.A single unified board only
• d.Any of five separate exchanges

The SEHK operates two equity boards: the Main Board for larger, established issuers and GEM for smaller companies. Each has its own set of listing eligibility requirements under the Listing Rules.

A new applicant for a Main Board listing must generally ensure that at least what proportion of its total issued shares is held by the public?

• a.25%✓
• b.10%
• c.5%
• d.51%

The Listing Rules require a minimum public float of at least 25% of the issuer's total issued shares (a lower percentage may be accepted for very large issuers). This ensures an open market and adequate liquidity in the shares.

Under the Main Board profit test, a new applicant must generally have an aggregate profit over the three-year track record period of at least:

• a.There is no minimum profit requirement at all under any of the current Main Board listing eligibility tests
• b.HK$80 million (with a minimum in the most recent year and in the two preceding years combined)✓
• c.HK$500 million
• d.HK$5 million

Following the 2022 increase, the Main Board profit test requires an aggregate profit of at least HK$80 million over the three-year track record - HK$35 million in the most recent year and HK$45 million in aggregate for the two preceding years. Alternative market-cap-based tests also exist.

Besides the profit test, which of the following is one of the alternative financial eligibility tests for a Main Board listing?

• a.The market capitalisation / revenue test (a minimum market cap plus a minimum revenue in the latest year)✓
• b.A test based on the chairman's net worth
• c.A test based purely on the total number of full-time employees the applicant company currently has on its payroll
• d.A test based on the age of the company

The Main Board offers three tests: the profit test, the market-cap/revenue test (market cap of at least HK$4 billion and revenue of at least HK$500 million in the latest year), and the market-cap/revenue/cash-flow test. An applicant must satisfy at least one.

GEM (the Growth Enterprise Market) is designed primarily for:

• a.The very largest and most well-established blue-chip companies already listed in Hong Kong
• b.Smaller and growth companies that may not meet the Main Board's profit requirement✓
• c.Foreign banks only
• d.Government bonds only

GEM caters to smaller and growth companies, applying lower entry thresholds than the Main Board (for example, a positive operating cash-flow requirement rather than a profit test). It carries correspondingly higher investment risk.

In a Hong Kong IPO, the role of the sponsor is to:

• a.Buy up any shares left unsold in the public offer itself in every single case, acting as the underwriter
• b.Manage the listing application and conduct due diligence to ensure the applicant is suitable for listing✓
• c.Guarantee the share price after listing
• d.Set the level of stamp duty payable

The sponsor - which must be a licensed or registered firm carrying on Type 6 regulated activity (advising on corporate finance) - manages the listing application, conducts due diligence and is responsible to the Exchange for the applicant's suitability and disclosure. It does not guarantee the price.

Under the Listing Rules, a sponsor must be formally appointed at least how long before the submission of a listing application?

• a.There is no minimum period
• b.1 week
• c.5 years
• d.2 months✓

The Listing Rules require a sponsor to be appointed at least two months before submission of the listing application, giving adequate time for proper due diligence. This 'two-month rule' reinforces the sponsor's gatekeeping responsibilities.

The Listing Rules that govern the listing and continuing obligations of issuers are made and administered by:

• a.The Companies Registry
• b.The Inland Revenue Department
• c.The Hong Kong Monetary Authority, acting as the front-line regulator for all Hong Kong listed issuers
• d.The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (part of HKEX), through its Listing Division and Listing Committee✓

The Listing Rules are administered by SEHK through the Listing Division (day-to-day vetting) and the Listing Committee (policy and significant decisions). Although not statute, they are enforced contractually and backed by the SFC's oversight.

Under the 'dual filing' arrangement for new listings, listing application documents filed with the Exchange are:

• a.Also filed with the SFC, which can object to the listing if disclosure is materially deficient✓
• b.Reviewed only after listing has been approved
• c.Kept secret from the SFC entirely
• d.Sent only to the Companies Registry for registration, instead of to the Exchange or the SFC at all

Under the Securities and Futures (Stock Market Listing) Rules, listing applicants' disclosure documents are filed with the SFC in parallel with the Exchange ('dual filing'). The SFC may object where the prospectus contains materially false or incomplete information.

Before a prospectus for a public offer of shares can be issued in Hong Kong, it must be registered with:

• a.The Hong Kong Monetary Authority
• b.The Stock Exchange's own central clearing house (HKSCC)
• c.The Companies Registry (Registrar of Companies)✓
• d.The Market Misconduct Tribunal

A prospectus must comply with the content requirements of, and be registered with the Registrar of Companies under, the Companies (Winding Up and Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance before it is issued. Registration is a precondition to a lawful public offer of shares.

A person who authorises the issue of a prospectus that contains an untrue statement may face:

• a.Both civil liability to compensate investors and potential criminal liability✓
• b.No consequences, since a prospectus is only marketing
• c.Civil liability arising only if the company itself later becomes insolvent and cannot pay
• d.Only a warning letter from the Exchange

The prospectus regime imposes both civil liability (to compensate subscribers who suffer loss) and criminal liability on persons responsible for untrue statements in a prospectus, subject to statutory defences such as reasonable belief in the statement's truth.

The 'clawback' mechanism commonly used in Hong Kong IPOs operates to:

• a.Force the sponsor to buy back shares
• b.Recover previously allotted shares from investors after listing if the market price subsequently falls below the offer price
• c.Reallocate shares from the placing tranche to the public offer tranche when the public offer is heavily oversubscribed✓
• d.Refund stamp duty to retail investors

The clawback increases the proportion of shares allocated to the public subscription tranche (and reduces the placing tranche) as the level of public oversubscription rises. It ensures retail demand is met when public interest is strong.

An 'over-allotment option' (greenshoe) in an IPO allows the underwriters to:

• a.Guarantee investors a minimum share price in the aftermarket indefinitely for the benefit of all subscribing investors
• b.Set the stamp duty rate
• c.Cancel the listing at will
• d.Allot additional shares (commonly up to 15% of the offer) to cover over-allocations and support price stabilisation✓

The over-allotment or greenshoe option lets underwriters allot more shares than the base offer (typically up to 15%), which they can cover by buying in the aftermarket during the stabilisation period. It is a recognised, disclosed price-support tool.

Price stabilisation activity by underwriters after an IPO is:

• a.Permitted indefinitely after listing without any conditions, disclosure or applicable time limit whatsoever
• b.Always prohibited as market manipulation
• c.Decided solely by the issuer's chairman
• d.Permitted for a limited period (up to 30 days after listing) subject to disclosure and conditions✓

Stabilisation is permitted, as an exception to the manipulation rules, only within a defined window (up to 30 days after the commencement of dealings), within disclosed limits and subject to strict conditions. Outside those bounds it could amount to price rigging or manipulation.

In a Hong Kong public offer, an investor using a 'white form' eIPO application will, if successful, have the allotted shares:

• a.Automatically sold on listing day
• b.Issued in the investor's own name (a physical/registered holding)✓
• c.Credited automatically to the listing sponsor's own securities account instead
• d.Converted into a bond

A white form application results in shares being issued in the applicant's own name, whereas a yellow form application results in the shares being deposited directly into CCASS. Both are electronic public-offer application methods.

On the SEHK, listed shares are generally traded in multiples of a 'board lot', which is:

• a.The number of shares that must be sold each day
• b.The minimum number of shares in one trading unit, as set by the issuer✓
• c.Fixed at 1,000 shares for every company by law
• d.The maximum number of shares that any single investor is permitted to hold

A board lot is the standard trading unit set by each issuer (e.g. 500, 1,000 or 2,000 shares). Orders are normally placed in whole board lots; odd lots trade in a separate market at a possible discount.

Orders on the SEHK are executed through:

• a.An open-outcry trading floor where brokers shout orders using paper slips
• b.Telephone negotiation between brokers only
• c.An electronic automatic order-matching system operated by the Exchange✓
• d.A daily auction conducted by the SFC

SEHK trading is conducted through an electronic automatic order-matching and execution system, which matches orders on a price and time priority basis. Manual open-outcry trading has long been replaced by the electronic platform.

Clearing and settlement of SEHK securities trades is carried out through CCASS, which is operated by:

• a.Hong Kong Securities Clearing Company Limited (HKSCC)✓
• b.Each individual broker firm for all of its own client trades
• c.The SFC
• d.The Companies Registry

The Central Clearing and Settlement System (CCASS) is operated by HKSCC, the securities clearing house within the HKEX group. It provides book-entry settlement, so most securities are held and transferred electronically rather than by physical certificates.

Under the Continuous Net Settlement (CNS) system in CCASS, a clearing participant's many trades in a stock on a day are:

• a.Settled only in physical share certificates
• b.Novated to HKSCC and netted to a single net position per security to be settled✓
• c.Settled individually, one trade at a time, directly with each separate counterparty
• d.Left unsettled until the end of the year

Under CNS, trades are novated to HKSCC (which becomes the counterparty) and netted so each participant has a single net receivable or deliverable position per security. This reduces settlement volume and counterparty risk.

Money settlement for CCASS securities transactions normally takes place on:

• a.The trade day itself (T+0)
• b.The second business day after the trade (T+2), in line with stock settlement✓
• c.The tenth business day after the trade date (T+10), following physical delivery
• d.A quarterly cycle

Both stock and money settlement in CCASS follow a T+2 cycle - two business days after the trade date. Money settlement is effected through designated banks under a direct-debit arrangement with clearing participants.