Morgan Stanley, ING Groep and Goldman Sachs are among a group of 15 international investment banks fighting proposals to tighten regulations on listing sponsors.
Accounting giant Ernst & Young is also against the proposals, as are the Hong Kong Stockbrokers Association and a group of 15 to 18 local investment banks.
The association, the two bank groups and Ernst & Young all made submissions to the regulators when the consultation ended yesterday.
The opposition is set to force the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEx) to amend the proposals they announced two months ago.
The proposals, which are aimed at raising the entry barrier and placing tougher responsibilities on investment banks that sponsor company listings in Hong Kong, follow the Euro-Asia Agricultural (Holdings) debacle and several other alleged accounting scandals last year.
A source in the banking group told the South China Morning Post that almost all the biggest investment banks, such as Morgan Stanley, Goldman, China International Capital Corp, ING, Bank of China, ABN Amro, Citicorp and UBS Warburg, were among the group, adding that they had appointed a law firm to make a submission to regulators.
'The proposed regulations are putting all the responsibility for the failure of a new listing on the shoulders of sponsors,' the source said. 'It is unacceptable, unreasonable and unique in the world.'
