Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission: Sponsor responsible for warning letter is handling 70% of the listing applications, requested for full review.

On February 2, the CEO of the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong, Ada Liang, informed legislators that out of the 13 sponsoring intermediaries who were earlier warned in a joint letter by the Securities and Futures Commission and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, over 70% of the ongoing listing applications in the market have been processed, totaling around 433 cases. In December 2025, the Securities and Futures Commission and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange issued a joint letter to the 13 sponsoring intermediaries. The Securities and Futures Commission required these 13 intermediaries, along with all sponsoring intermediaries facing resource constraints, to undergo a comprehensive review within three months, covering specific cases of regulatory concern and their own resource situations. All sponsoring intermediaries are also required to report two key data to the Securities and Futures Commission: the ratio of active listing projects to the number of key personnel of the intermediaries, and the status of personnel involved in IPO work who have not yet passed the required exams. These 13 sponsoring intermediaries must complete a comprehensive internal review within three months, and the Securities and Futures Commission will soon conduct thematic inspections of the intermediaries. In terms of manpower allocation, any key personnel overseeing six or more active projects for listing sponsorship must provide feasible correction and resource plans to the Securities and Futures Commission, as well as submit responsible resource management plans. Meanwhile, on January 30, 2026, the Securities and Futures Commission issued a circular expressing heightened concern over issues arising during the surge of new listing applications in 2025, including serious deficiencies in the preparation of some listing documents, misconduct by sponsoring intermediaries, and significant errors in their resource management. Regarding existing listing applications, the Securities and Futures Commission warned that if sponsoring intermediaries' responses to regulatory authorities contain serious omissions or are not credible, or if the Commission considers the listing documents unreasonably lengthy, the project approval process may be suspended. As of December 31, 2025, the processing of 16 listing applications has been suspended. The Securities and Futures Commission will notify its regulatory counterparts about the suspension of these approval processes. Additionally, Ada Liang mentioned that the Securities and Futures Commission is cooperating with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on two consultation projects to enhance competitiveness: one regarding different voting rights structures and the other to study ways to reduce disclosure burdens for companies after listing. She also stated that the Securities and Futures Commission has investigated and dealt with improper practices involving the overseas transmission of IPO subscriptions, with cases involving money laundering and the use of forged documents. Ada Liang emphasized that brokers must conduct due diligence on underlying clients and their funding sources, and emphasized that the use of forged documents constitutes a criminal offense. She also noted that, according to the Securities and Futures Commission's understanding, there are no restrictions on A+H share listings.