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ASX Limited has paid a $1,050,000 penalty for an order information transparency failure, the first time ASIC has issued an infringement notice to a market operator. We had reasonable grounds to believe ASX breached the market integrity rule requiring pre-trade transparency on 8,417 occasions over April 2019–December 2022 due to an incorrect system configuration. Pre-trade information is important because it assists with price formation, aids liquidity, enables investors to assess investment opportunities and value listed companies. We consider ASX’s conduct was serious, going undetected until it was reported to ASX by a market participant. On at least two occasions before 22 December 2022, ASX could have – but did not – identify the issue. ASIC Chair Joe Longo said, ‘Technology and operational resilience for market operators is a strategic enforcement priority. ASIC will continue to take action to ensure that market operators and market participants have robust systems, controls and technological infrastructure in place to support Australia’s capital markets.’ Read more https://bit.ly/3V2bvu0 #markets #enforcement #CapitalMarkets

Hong Kong SFC withdrew restriction notice banning Bright Smart Securities from dealing with proceeds or assets of Barry Kwok Sze Lok who is suspected of insider trading in shares of I.T Limited, as SFC has obtained separate court orders to prevent dissipation of assets by Barry Kwok Sze Lok & Associate Tsang Ching Yi.  Read - https://lnkd.in/gep3We4W follow Caproasia | Driving the future of Asia The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has withdrawn the restriction notice banning Bright Smart Securities from dealing with proceeds or assets of Barry Kwok Sze Lok who is suspected of insider trading in shares of I.T Limited, as SFC has obtained separate court orders to prevent dissipation of assets by Barry Kwok Sze Lok & Associate Tsang Ching Yi.  Hong Kong SFC (19/11/24): “The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has withdrawn the Restriction Notice prohibiting Bright Smart Securities International (H.K.) Limited (Bright Smart) from disposing of or dealing with proceeds or assets in the account of Mr Barry Kwok Sze Lok in connection with suspected insider dealing in the shares of I.T Limited (I.T) (Notes 1 and 2).  The withdrawal of the Restriction Notice imposed on Bright Smart in August 2022 came after the SFC obtained court orders to prevent dissipation of assets in relation to an investigation into suspected insider dealing in I.T. shares by Kwok and his associate Ms Tsang Ching Yi.  On 2 May 2023, the SFC obtained an interim injunction order from the Court of First Instance against Kwok and Tsang, prohibiting them from disposing of or dealing with their assets which are within Hong Kong, including all monies and securities in their securities accounts in Hong Kong, up to the value of $8,246,496 (Note 3).  Since the assets in Kwok’s account held with Bright Smart are subject to the interim injunction, it is not necessary for the Restriction Notice to remain in force. As such, the SFC considers it appropriate to withdraw the Restriction Notice imposed on Bright Smart.  Bright Smart is not a subject of the SFC’s investigation and the Restriction Notice did not affect its operations or its other clients.”

ASIC has made it clear that operational resilience is a strategic enforcement priority. Are you confident your systems and controls are up to the task? If not, reach out to hear how LexisNexis Obligation Registers and Alerts can help. #ASIC #operationalresilience #lexisnexis #regulatorycompliance #regulatoryintelligence

Hong Kong SFC withdrew restriction notice banning Bright Smart Securities from dealing with proceeds or assets of Barry Kwok Sze Lok who is suspected of insider trading in shares of I.T Limited, as SFC has obtained separate court orders to prevent dissipation of assets by Barry Kwok Sze Lok & Associate Tsang Ching Yi.  Read - https://lnkd.in/giDTyXDK follow Caproasia | Driving the future of Asia The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has withdrawn the restriction notice banning Bright Smart Securities from dealing with proceeds or assets of Barry Kwok Sze Lok who is suspected of insider trading in shares of I.T Limited, as SFC has obtained separate court orders to prevent dissipation of assets by Barry Kwok Sze Lok & Associate Tsang Ching Yi.  Hong Kong SFC (19/11/24): “The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has withdrawn the Restriction Notice prohibiting Bright Smart Securities International (H.K.) Limited (Bright Smart) from disposing of or dealing with proceeds or assets in the account of Mr Barry Kwok Sze Lok in connection with suspected insider dealing in the shares of I.T Limited (I.T) (Notes 1 and 2).  The withdrawal of the Restriction Notice imposed on Bright Smart in August 2022 came after the SFC obtained court orders to prevent dissipation of assets in relation to an investigation into suspected insider dealing in I.T. shares by Kwok and his associate Ms Tsang Ching Yi.  On 2 May 2023, the SFC obtained an interim injunction order from the Court of First Instance against Kwok and Tsang, prohibiting them from disposing of or dealing with their assets which are within Hong Kong, including all monies and securities in their securities accounts in Hong Kong, up to the value of $8,246,496 (Note 3).  Since the assets in Kwok’s account held with Bright Smart are subject to the interim injunction, it is not necessary for the Restriction Notice to remain in force. As such, the SFC considers it appropriate to withdraw the Restriction Notice imposed on Bright Smart.  Bright Smart is not a subject of the SFC’s investigation and the Restriction Notice did not affect its operations or its other clients.”  

Capital Market and Securities Laws updates: Investor Charter for Stock Exchanges (May 29, 2024) In order to facilitate investor awareness about various activities such as business transacted and services provided to investors on stock exchanges, grievance redressal mechanism, rights and obligations of investors, guidance pertaining to special circumstances related to market activities due to default of brokers, advisory for investors etc., SEBI in November 2021 has formulated the Investor Charter for Stock exchanges containing the information for investors on aforesaid issues and advised Stock Exchanges to disclose the same on their respective websites. In view of the recent developments in the securities market including introduction of Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) platform and SCORES 2.0, SEBI has modified the Investor Charter for Stock Exchanges inter-alia detailing the services provided to Investors, Rights of Investors, various activities of stock exchanges with timelines, Dos and DON’T’s for Investors, Responsibilities of Investors, Code of Conduct for Stock Exchanges and Grievance Redressal Mechanism which is placed at Annexure A to this circular. For details: https://lnkd.in/gaWKkAet

Australian Securities & Investments Commission files lawsuit against Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) for misleading statements on ASX IT upgrading project, but has no reasonable basis for ASX to make the announcement in 2022 February on “the IT project was on track to go live in 2023 April & progressing well”.   In 2022 March (6 weeks later), ASX announced delay on the IT project, and engaged Accenture to review the project and subsequently paused the project with AUD 250 million write down costs. Read - https://lnkd.in/gaTriQ8B follow Caproasia | Driving the future of Asia The Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) has filed a lawsuitagainst Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) for misleading statements on ASX IT upgrading project, but has no reasonable basis for ASX to make the announcement in 2022 February on “the IT project was on track to go live in 2023 April & progressing well”.   In 2022 March (6 weeks later), ASX announced delay on the IT project, and engaged Accenture to review the project and subsequently paused the project with AUD 250 million write down costs.  ASIC will determine the fine for ASX at a later date.  Separately in 2024 March, ASIC fined ASX AUD 1.05 million for breaching market integrity rules.   ASX is listed Australia Securities Exchange (ASX) with current market value of $8.2 billion. Background – “Ensuring the ASX has complied, and is complying, with its legal obligations is critically important to maintaining confidence in the integrity of the market given the important role ASX plays in developing and issuing recommendations on the corporate governance practices to be adopted by listed companies and is responsible for the governance of critical national infrastructure.  On 28 March 2022, approximately six weeks after making the statements, ASX announced that there was a strong likelihood of further delay to the go-live date of April 2023. Following that announcement, ASX engaged Accenture to undertake a review of the project.  That review identified significant challenges with the solution design and its ability to meet the ASX’s requirements. Following the release of the Accenture Report, ASX decided to pause the project and wrote down costs of $250 million.” ASIC Chair Joe Longo: ASX’s statements go to the heart of trust in the integrity of our markets. We believe this was a collective failure by the ASX Board and senior executives at the time.  Companies and market participants rely on what the ASX says about its operations to make their own decisions and investments. We expect the ASX to be a place to list and invest with confidence ... ...

Capital Market and Securities Laws updates: Investor Charter for Stock Exchanges (May 29, 2024) In order to facilitate investor awareness about various activities such as business transacted and services provided to investors on stock exchanges, grievance redressal mechanism, rights and obligations of investors, guidance pertaining to special circumstances related to market activities due to default of brokers, advisory for investors etc., SEBI in November 2021 has formulated the Investor Charter for Stock exchanges containing the information for investors on aforesaid issues and advised Stock Exchanges to disclose the same on their respective websites. In view of the recent developments in the securities market including introduction of Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) platform and SCORES 2.0, SEBI has modified the Investor Charter for Stock Exchanges inter-alia detailing the services provided to Investors, Rights of Investors, various activities of stock exchanges with timelines, Dos and DON’T’s for Investors, Responsibilities of Investors, Code of Conduct for Stock Exchanges and Grievance Redressal Mechanism which is placed at Annexure A to this circular. For details: https://lnkd.in/gaWKkAet

The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) has levelled accusations of making misleading comments at Australia’s largest share market operator, ASX Ltd, in relation to its Clearing House Electronic Subregister System (CHESS) replacement project. These allegations concern statements by the ASX in February 2022 that the project was “on-track for go-live” and “progressing well” for its slated launch in April 2023. ASIC says those statements were misleading as the project was not on schedule at the time the announcement was made and the ASX did not “have any reasonable basis to imply the project was on track to meet future milestones”. More at #Proactive #ProactiveInvestors #MarketRegulation #ASX #ASIC #FinancialRegulation http://ow.ly/ISEp105FlIp

Penguin Securities Pte. Ltd. (“Penguin Securities”), headquartered in Singapore, proudly announces that it has received in-principle approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) for its Capital Markets Services Licence (CMSL) application. This represents a significant milestone for Penguin Securities as it further broadens its presence within Singapore’s robust financial services ecosystem. Following on from this, Penguin Securities will work towards obtaining its CMSL. Once granted, the CMSL will enable Penguin Securities to conduct the regulated activity in Singapore of dealing in Capital Markets Products that are Securities, Collective Investment Schemes, Exchange-Traded Derivatives Contracts, and Over-The-Counter Derivatives Contracts. This will be a key step in enhancing Penguin Securities’ offerings to accredited investors and institutional investors. “Securing in-principle approval from the MAS for this licence application, is a crucial milestone in our mission to deliver institutional-grade structured products to accredited investors and institutional investors. The MAS regulatory regime is highly respected for its progressive approach and rigorous standards, creating a robust framework that fosters innovation while ensuring the highest levels of market integrity and investor protection. Regulatory compliance is a fundamental pillar of our growth strategy,” said Kentaro Kawabe, CEO of Penguin Securities.

CSRC Responds to "On-Site Scrutiny" Rumors: It Is a Routine Inspection. The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) refuted recent market rumors suggesting that local securities regulatory bureaus launched surprise on-site scrutiny over mutual fund companies in Beijing and Shanghai, as reported by China Fund News and other local media outlets. Anonymous sources cited in local newspapers confirmed that while regulators had indeed conducted on-site scrutiny over several mutual fund companies, these actions were part of routine industry oversight with no element of surprise intended. The reports emphasized that such actions aligned with the regulatory tone set for China's securities and investment fund industry, which prioritize strict regulation, thorough scrutiny of daily activities, on-site inspections, and enforcement. Wu Qing, chairman of the CSRC, reiterated the commitment to strict regulation aimed at fostering a healthy and robust securities and investment fund industry during a press conference focusing on economic matters held during the Two Sessions. In line with this commitment, CSRC unveiled a series of four policy documents on March 15th. Among them, the document dedicated to securities and investment funds highlighted CSRC's intention to bolster routine scrutiny, on-site inspections, and enforcement to compel market participants to prioritize compliance as a value-adding activity. CSRC further stated that it would grant permission for business activities only after thoroughly understanding their pros and cons and having a clear regulatory roadmap in place.