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On 20 May 2021, The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (SEHK) published the consultation conclusions on the Main Board Profit Requirement. On the same day, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and SEHK issued a joint statement (Joint Statement) on IPO-related misconduct and their approach in tackling such issues.
With effect from 1 January 2022, the aggregate profit requirement for the three-year trading record period for a Main Board’s listing applicant will increase by 60% to HK$80 million with a profit spread of 56%:44% (Modified Profit Increase). SEHK will be prepared to grant a relief from the profit spread on case-specific circumstances to provide flexibility. Potential applicants seeking or contemplating seeking a Main Board listing should critically assess the potential impacts of the Modified Profit Increase on their eligibility for listing as well as their proposed listing timetable.
The SFC and SEHK have observed an increasing number of suspected “ramp-and-dump” schemes in recent IPOs. A joint statement was issued highlighting a number of non-exhaustive features of problematic IPOs that may lead to enquiries by the regulators, such as market capitalisation which only barely meets the minimum requirement, high P/E ratio, high underwriting fees or expenses and high shareholder concentration. It is also set out in the Joint Statement the regulators’ approach in tackling suspected misconduct, including exercising their discretion to object to a new listing, suspending trading or taking appropriate action against the parties involved in the suspected misconduct.
For more information, please click here
The Insurance Authority (IA) recently published the latest issue of Conduct In Focus .
In this issue, the IA announces that it received 1,494 complaints in year 2020 and 348 complaints in the first three months in 2021. The top complaint category (taking up about 30% of the total number of complaints) relates to conduct issues such as problems in insurance sales process, the handling of client’s premiums, cross-border selling and allegations of fraud.
The publication also features the recent trend of insurance agents’ promotion of insurance products in public places like temporary booths and vacant retail outlets and the potential conduct issues involved. First, certain marketing materials used in these places may not have been approved by the insurance agents’ principals, as required by the Code of Conduct for Licensed Insurance Agents. Further, such sales channels may not be able to provide adequate time and information to prospective customers to enable them to make informed decisions. To address this concern, the IA recommends good practices in the publication.
For more information, please refer to the IA’s website.
Date: 26 May 2021
Practice Area(s): Financial Services Regulatory / Insurance / Corporate Governance
Key Contact(s): Nathan Dentice / Iris Cheng
On 1 June 2021, our Partner William Barber and Associates Iris Cheng and Rachel Liu delivered a webinar entitled “An Overview of International Arbitration and Arbitration at the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre” organized by The Hong Kong Federation of Insurers (HKFI) for its members.
William, Iris and Rachel presented an overview on the characteristics and advantages of arbitration, typical procedures involved in Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre administered arbitrations, interim measures of protection and emergency relief, and recognition and enforcement of arbitral award.
We are pleased to announce that Benchmark Litigation Asia Pacific has ranked MinterEllison LLP under the Construction, Intellectual Property, Commercial and Transactions and International Arbitration, and recognized our Partners in the guide’s 2021 rankings. We are most grateful for the support of our invaluable clients and the commitments of our lawyers.
Our Partners have been named “Litigation Stars”. They are:
Benchmark Litigation is a definitive guide to the leading dispute resolution firms and lawyers in the region. The results are based on extensive interviews with litigators, dispute resolution specialists and the clients as well as analysis of the market’s most important cases and firm developments.
To view our ranking this year, please click here.
We are pleased to announce that MinterEllison LLP has recently been named as In-House Community: Firm of the Year 2021 – Hong Kong in the area of Corporate and M&A. The Firm has also received an Honourable Mention in the area of Energy & Natural Resources. Firm of the Year recognitions are based on feedback from nearly 17,000 in-house counsel and legal service buyers, on those law firms that had made the most significant impression on them in the past year.
In-House Community Magazine (previously, Asian-mena Counsel magazine) is a monthly publication for the In-House Community of corporate counsel, and those who serve them along the New Silk Road. It is the only monthly magazine which specifically addresses the concerns of in-house lawyers across the region, and provides thought-provoking analysis and discussion of vital legal, regulatory and business issues, along with news and profiles of leading in-house practitioners.
The full results are available here.
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