Hong Kong’s SFC no longer a ‘toothless tiger’ after it imposed US$707 million in fines over 11 years to clean up misconduct, outgoing CEO says
- The total amount of fines imposed by the SFC during Ashley Alder’s 11-year tenure was over HK$5.5 billion (US$706.5 million)
- Alder, who will return to the UK after 30 years in Hong Kong, said he will miss the ‘landscape and people’ of the city
Hong Kong market regulator the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) is no longer a “toothless tiger” after the many enforcement actions and heavy fines it has imposed over the past decade to clean up misconduct, according to its outgoing CEO.
The actions of the regulator have established the city as a leading fundraising hub and a bridge between mainland China and the international markets, said Ashley Alder, 63, who served as chief executive for the past 11 years, making him the longest serving CEO of the commission.
“Quite a long time ago, I remember the SFC was often seen to be this thing called ‘toothless tiger’. It just definitely isn’t,” Alder said in an interview with the South China Morning Post before he will step down in two weeks.
“There was a ‘toothless tiger’ era, and then it kind of ramped up and we started focusing really hard where we saw the greatest level of harm to the market.”
Some local brokers called the SFC as a “toothless tiger” because in the early years – it was established in 1989 – the regulator did not have the powers to impose fines or investigate listed company directors or executives.
A game-changer came in 2003 after the enactment of the Securities and Futures Ordinance, which expanded the SFC’s investigative powers and allowed it to impose fines.