| Agency Name: | Securities and Futures Commission |
| Nativename A: | 證券及期貨事務監察委員會 |
| Jurisdiction: | Hong Kong |
| Headquarters: | One Island East, 18 Westlands Road, Quarry Bay, Hong Kong |
| Chief1 Name: | Tim Lui |
| Chief1 Position: | Chairman |
| Chief2 Name: | Ashley Alder |
| Chief2 Position: | Chief Executive Officer |
| Chief3 Name: | Julia Leung |
| Chief3 Position: | Deputy Chief Executive Officer |
| Website: | https://www.sfc.hk/en/ |
| T: | 證券及期貨事務監察委員會 |
| S: | 证券及期货事务监察委员会 |
| Y: | Jing hyun kahp kèih fo sih mouh gāam chaat wái yùhn wuih |
| J: | Zing3 hyun3 kap6 kei4 fo3 si6 mou6 gaam1 caat3 wai2 jyun4 wui6 |
| P: | Zhèngquàn jí Qīhuò Shìwù Jiānchá Wěiyuánhuì |
| Hide: | yes |
The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) of Hong Kong is the independent statutory body charged with regulating the securities and futures markets in Hong Kong. The SFC is responsible for fostering an orderly securities and futures markets, to protect investors and to help promote Hong Kong as an international financial centre and a key financial market in Asia. Even though it is considered to be a branch of the government, it is run independently under the authorisation of the laws relating to Securities and Futures.[1]
The head office is in 54/F, One Island East, 18 Westlands Road, Quarry Bay[2]
The SFC was created in 1989 in response to the stock market crash of 1987.
In 1997 following the Asian financial crisis, the regulatory framework was further improved.
A comprehensive Securities and Futures Ordinance (SFO) was implemented in 2003, which expanded the SFC's regulatory functions and powers.
Andrew Sheng served as chairman of the SFC from 1998 until 2005, when he was succeeded by Martin Wheatley. Wheatley first served as chairman, and became CEO in 2006 when the posts of chairman and CEO were segregated to further promote corporate governance. Eddy Fong was appointed non-executive chairman in 2006. Ashley Alder assumed the position of CEO in 2011[3] and Carlson Tong was appointed non-executive chairman in 2012.[4] In late 2022, Julia Leung was named as chief executive officer of the SFC.[5]
The SFC is one of four regulatory organisations that make up financial regulators in Hong Kong, one of the major financial centres in the world. The others are the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Insurance Authority and the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority. The SFC is responsible for securities and futures markets including the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the seventh largest stock exchange in the world (See list of stock exchanges).
The SFC has a responsibility to maintain order and protect investors, it does this by carrying out the following tasks:[6]
The SFC is an independent statutory body whose powers derive from the Securities and Futures Ordinance (SFO) legislation.
The SFC is made up of a board whose members are appointed by the Chief Executive of Hong Kong for a fixed term, a majority of which must be independent Non-Executive Directors. The board is headed by the chairman also appointed by the Chief Executive of Hong Kong.
An executive committee led by a chief executive officer (CEO) reports to the board and the board chairman and he runs the agency on a day-to-day basis; this position was created in 2006.
The SFC is funded by levies on transactions conducted on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (SEHK) and the Hong Kong Futures Exchange (HKFE), as well as fees charged to market participants.
The position of CEO was created in 2006. The list of CEOs is:
The Licensing Examination for Securities and Futures Intermediaries (LE), a practical and market-focused examination, was developed with the assistance of regulators, academics and practitioners drawn from across the financial services industry. Its delegated by the SFC and conducted by the Hong Kong Securities Institute.
The Hong Kong Securities and Investment Institute faces a lot of criticisms since the test were not checked or validated independently before implemented to the examinations. In addition to that, no formal appeal procedures or practices are in place to check and balances the legitimacy of such examinations. Discrepancies between different languages are commonplace with these examinations.
Candidates should be aware that neither SFC nor the Hong Kong Securities and Investment Institute (HKSI) endorses any study notes or practice questions.[7]
Criticized for its response to JPEX, the SFC in September 2023 said that it would not publish a list of businesses applying for cryptocurrency licenses; a week later, the SFC backtracked and said it would publish it.[8]