Oversight: SFC’s regulation of Hong Kong custodians

Introduction

On 24 March 2023, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) published its Further Consultation Conclusions on the proposed amendments to the subsidiary legislation and SFC codes and guidelines for the implementation of the new regime to regulate top-level trustees and custodians of SFC-authorised collective investment schemes (CIS). The Oversight regarding the original Consultation Paper (2019 Consultation Paper) that introduced the new regulated activity ‘Type 13 (acting as a depositary)’ (RA 13) under the Securities and Futures Ordinance (SFO) can be accessed here. The Oversight regarding the Consultation Conclusions to the 2019 Consultation Paper and a summary of the Further Consultation on consequential changes to SFC codes, guidelines and subsidiary legislations (Further Consultation Paper) can be accessed here.

The Further Consultation Conclusions set out the comments received and the SFC’s responses in respect of the proposed amendments to relevant subsidiary legislation and SFC codes and guidelines. This Oversight provides an overview of the Further Consultation Conclusions, highlighting clarifications to technical issues raised in order to facilitate the implementation of the RA 13 regime on 2 October 2024.