HK Enforcement Actions Up

The number of enforcement actions filed by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission is rising and looks likely to continue, according to a presentation by Martin Wheatley, chairman at the regulator. Insider dealing is an area the SFC is paying particular attention to, with six insiders found guilty in the nine months leading up to December 2005--out of a total of 23 insiders found guilty in total since April 2002.

Market manipulation and false or misleading information prosecutions rose for the fourth year in a row--with 19 prosecutions during the nine months up to December 2005--already an increase on the 16 total cases for the 2004/2005 financial year. The SFC took actions against 84 regulated individuals in the same nine-month period ending in December, which is up 27% over the same period last year. The SFC is currently working on 115 disciplinary cases, including cases against five sponsor firms, and mis-selling cases against two firms and 10 individuals.