HONG KONG: Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has announced that the payment of annual licensing fees will be waived for another two-year period, effective from April 1, 2016.
“Recognizing the challenging market environment in which intermediaries operate, we hope the two-year fee waiver will provide a certain degree of financial relief for them, particularly smaller firms,” said Ashley Alder, the SFC’s Chief Executive Officer.
The fee waiver, which should benefit more than 41,000 intermediaries, will apply to annual licensing fees for all licensed corporations, registered institutions, responsible officers, and licensed representatives. It does not apply to any other fees, such as new license application fees and transfer fees.
The SFC waived annual licensing fees from April 1, 2009, to March 31, 2010, and renewed the fee waiver from April 1, 2012, to March 31 this year.
