ENG-2007 — Page 116

76 | Financial and Monetary Affairs

The SFC continued to run outreach activities targeting different audiences. It jointly organised investor education seminars for the public with The Hong Kong Society of Financial Analysts and The Open University of Hong Kong. It also collaborated with the Institute of Financial Planners of Hong Kong and the Education Bureau to offer courses for secondary school teachers to assist them in teaching the new Senior Secondary Business, Accounting and Financial Studies Curriculum starting in the 2009 academic year. Moreover, there were talks to university and secondary school students, as well as civil servants. The response to these outreach activities was positive nearly 7 000 people attended the 59 sessions held in 2007.

In 2007, the SFC continued to enhance cross-boundary and local regulatory cooperation and the protection of investors by signing two additional Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs). The first MOU was entered into with the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) to facilitate cooperation and information sharing with respect to Hong Kong licensed intermediaries who provide services to Mainland commercial banks conducting overseas wealth management business on behalf of their clients. The second MOU was entered into with the Financial Reporting Council to facilitate the coordination of effort and exchange of information in relation to the compliance with financial reporting standards by listed entities and observance of proper standards by their auditors and reporting accountants.

Building on the existing cooperation framework, the SFC exchanged side letters concerning enforcement cooperation with the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) to enhance cooperation between the two authorities. Under the new arrangements, the SFC may request investigatory assistance from the CSRC in obtaining information in the Mainland, and the CSRC can compel persons to provide the requested information for the SFC. The SFC will also be able to exercise its investigatory powers to help the CSRC in its investigations that have a Hong Kong element.

Insider Dealing Tribunal and Market Misconduct Tribunal

The Insider Dealing Tribunal was an important feature of the regulatory framework for the securities market in Hong Kong. Established under the repealed Securities (Insider Dealing) Ordinance, the tribunal looked into cases involving suspected insider dealing referred to it by the Financial Secretary. By year-end, it had concluded a total of 25 cases since it commenced operation in 1994.

When the SFO came into force on April 1, 2003, the Insider Dealing Tribunal was replaced by the Market Misconduct Tribunal (MMT), which covers five other types of market misconduct (false trading, price rigging, disclosure of information about prohibited transactions, disclosure of false or misleading information inducing transactions, and stock market manipulation) in addition to insider dealing. The MMT decides on cases on the civil standard of proof and can impose a range of civil sanctions, such as ordering the disgorgement of profits, banning a person from trading in SFC regulated financial products and disqualifying a person from directorship or management of a company.