Hong Kong watchdog SFC handed out record HK$1.29 billion in fines last year in bid to clean up world’s largest IPO market
- Fines last year were 55 per cent higher than previous four years’ worth added together
- SFC’s fines remain lower than penalties handed out by peers in US and Britain
The Securities and Futures Commission imposed a record high HK$1.29 billion (US$166 million) in fines last year, up 563 per cent from a year earlier as the regulator strove to improve the quality of new listings in the city, according to a study of international law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.
Fines last year were 55 per cent higher than the previous four years’ worth of fines added together at HK$829.95 million, according to a report by Freshfields, which has produced it annually since 2014.
“The SFC’s approach is in line with international trends. Fines are a popular enforcement tool for financial regulators in Hong Kong, the US and the UK,” said Georgia Dawson, Freshfields’ Asia managing partner in an interview.
The SFC’s higher fines indicate that the regulator is trying to clean up malpractice in the city and raise the quality of the new listings. Hong Kong has been the top market for initial public offerings worldwide seven times in the past 11 years.
