Hong Kong's struggling leveraged foreign exchange operators should not expect any loosening of tough regulations introduced in 1994, which dealers say are partly behind a steep drop in the industry's numbers.
Deputy Secretary for Financial Services Rebecca Lai Ko Wing-yee said yesterday the current regime was unlikely to be relaxed.
'It would be rather dangerous for the Government to relax the regulations because you might invite the old abuse problems back again,' Mrs Lai said.
Regulators launched a crackdown on leveraged foreign exchange trading in 1994 after a series of scandals left scores of customers short-changed.
Since then, the number of operators has dropped to 16 from 52, while banks have taken an increased share of business.
Last week, Wardley Financial Services chief executive John Seto Gin-chung called on the Securities and Futures Commission to review the tough regulations, if the industry's survival was to be assured.
