Recently, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) released the license application status in November on its official website. Information from the SFC shows that the family offices of founders of Internet giants, well-known Hong Kong funds, and global virtual asset investment institutions all obtained SFC licenses in November and entered the Hong Kong financial market.
For example, Hong Kong investment institution C Capital Investment Management Limited obtained licenses No. 11 and No. 4 from the Hong Kong Securities Regulatory Commission in November. Relevant information shows that license No. 9 is a license for providing consulting opinions on securities, and license No. 4 is an asset management license.
C Capital Investment Management was founded in 2017 and has a team of more than 20 people. It was co-founded by New World Development CEO Adrian Cheng and others. The fund focuses on consumption, technology, and blockchain. According to information from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, the address of C Capital Investment Management is New World Building. C Capital initially focused on venture capital, and later expanded to other strategies including credit funds and hedge funds. In recent years, Adrian Cheng has often appeared at blockchain, Web3 and other events.
In addition to C Capital, GURRYSHARK Fund Management Company Limited, a Hong Kong institution, also obtained a Hong Kong Type 11 license in November. The reporter learned from the industry that this institution is a single family trust, and its investment scope includes private equity, venture capital and hedge funds. The institution is owned by the founder of a leading Internet institution. Based on the background of the owner, the institution's investments also prefer technology-related fields.
Other institutions that have been approved for licenses include Dapu Asset Management (HK), the Hong Kong subsidiary of the well-known domestic private equity fund Dapu Asset Management, which obtained license No. 11 and license No. 23 on November 4. Zhongtian Investment Management China Arab Capital Limited, jointly funded by Makkah Investment and CMIG New Energy, obtained license No. 9 and license No. 11 in November.
Virtual asset practitioners are applying for licenses
With the strong support of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, Hong Kong has attracted the attention of global virtual asset practitioners.
For example, among the institutions newly approved for licenses in November, people related to First Fortune Investment Fund Limited expressed their interest in blockchain and virtual assets in an interview. For example, Yang Zhenjun, founder of First Fortune Investment Fund, once told the media that Hong Kong has a sound regulatory system, and the credibility and security of Hong Kong funds are also relatively higher than other virtual asset centers. Hong Kong followed Singapore in launching the OFC fund structure and also issued a series of preferential policies (OFC fund subsidies, full tax exemption for funds). "Hong Kong's fiat currency custody and banking systems are the most complete. Starting from the 'Digital Currency Declaration' in November 11, Hong Kong has introduced what we believe to be the most active and moderately tight regulatory rules in the world so far, and is constantly introducing more and more perfect follow-up policies. It is the most friendly jurisdiction with clear digital currency regulatory rules to follow." He also added that the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission clearly stipulates that in order to issue a compliant fund that fully invests in digital currencies, not only a (traditional) No. 2022 license is required, but also two licensed responsible persons (ROs) under the No. 11 license must have corresponding professional experience.
For another example, the official website shows that Swiss digital bank SEBA Bank AG (SEBA Bank) is a fully licensed Swiss crypto bank that provides comprehensive financial solutions for the digital age, covering equity investment, lending, custody, investment, trading, banking and deposits in Switzerland. SEBA Bank's wholly-owned subsidiary SEBA (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd. (SEBA Hong Kong) obtained a license from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) in November. The license allows SEBA Hong Kong to conduct regulated activities in Hong Kong.
Can the licensed institutions of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission engage in virtual asset investment in Hong Kong without restrictions? In response to this question, Yuan Chengpeng, a core member of Xiao Sa's team at Beijing Dacheng Law Firm, told the reporter of China Fund News that if an institution holds a No. 9 license and the proportion of virtual assets in its investment portfolio does not exceed 9% of the net assets of the portfolio, it can manage this portfolio under the original license. If an institution holding a No. 10 license has a virtual asset proportion of more than 9% of the net assets of the portfolio, it needs to apply to the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission to upgrade its license and can only manage this portfolio after approval.
In the third quarter, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission received 2017 license applications
Data shows that Hong Kong financial licenses, including virtual asset-related licenses, are attractive.
Since the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission implemented a new virtual asset trading platform licensing system on June 6 this year, as of December 1, a total of two institutions have been approved for virtual asset trading platform licenses in Hong Kong, namely OSL Digital Securities Limited and Hash Blockchain Limited.
As of now, nine institutions have submitted applications for virtual asset trading platforms to the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, namely Hong Kong BGE Limited; Hong Kong Digital Asset Trading Group Co., Ltd.; Hong Kong Virtual Asset Exchange Co., Ltd.; Victory Digital Technology Co., Ltd.; Meex Digital Securities Limited; Cheetah Trading (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd.; OKX Hong Kong FinTech Company Limited; Hong Kong VAEXC Limited; and Cloud Account Greater Bay Area Technology (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd.
The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission stated on its official website that the reason for publishing the list of virtual asset trading platform applications is to enable the public to determine whether the virtual asset trading platform has made false or misleading statements about its license application status with the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission. The virtual asset trading platform operators on the application list have not yet obtained the approval of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission for their license applications and may not meet the relevant requirements. Investors should refer to the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission's "List of Approved Virtual Asset Trading Platforms" for the names of virtual asset trading platform operators that have been formally licensed. The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission also reminds investors to be aware of the risks of trading virtual assets on unregulated virtual asset trading platforms (including any VATP applicants listed on this list).
The third quarter report released by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission recently showed that in the third quarter, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission received 2017 license applications (including 1972 individuals and 45 institutions), an increase of 13% from the previous quarter and 6% from the same period last year. As of September 9, the total number of licensed institutions, individuals and registered institutions was 30, including 48362 licensed institutions and 3236 registered institutions. In the third quarter, the total number of new licensed institutions, individuals and registered institutions was 112, including 3094 individuals, and 3061 licensed institutions and registered institutions. Among the 33 company licenses issued in the third quarter, Category 33 (providing asset management) regulated activities and Category 9 (providing advisory opinions on securities) accounted for 4% and 44% respectively.