An exodus has begun of Macau's notorious leveraged forex trading companies and black-futures market operators as authorities prepare to crack down on their activities.
The Monetary Authority of Macau plans to introduce legislation by the end of the year to bring the illicit business under control.
However, the rogue operators have already started moving their operations to cities in Australia and the mainland in anticipation of the clampdown, according to brokers in Hong Kong.
The trend threatens to undermine joint efforts by regulators in the SAR and Macau to stamp out the unregulated offshore trade.
Black futures are traded via telephone mostly by Hong Kong customers, who are attracted to the offshore operators because they are not required to make up-front margin payments.
Traders must post an initial margin of at least HK$80,000 to trade Hang Seng Index futures on the Hong Kong Futures Exchange.