Hong Kong SFC Imposes HK$27 mln Fine for Sponsor Due Diligence Failures
The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has reprimanded and imposed fines totalling HK$27 million on China Merchants Securities (HK) Co., Limited (China Merchants) for IPO sponsor due diligence failures relating to its joint sponsorship of the listing application of China Metal Recycling (Holdings) Limited (China Metal) which listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2009. The disciplinary action follows the SFC’s earlier sanctions imposed on the other joint sponsors, UBS AG and UBS Securities Hong Kong Limited (together, UBS), for their sponsor due diligence failures. The crackdown on sponsor failures is ongoing; in April 2019, the SFC imposed record fines on four investment banks for breaches of their obligations as IPO sponsors of the listing applications for China Forestry Holdings Company Limited and Tianhe Chemicals Group Limited. For further information regarding those disciplinary actions, please refer to our April 2019 newsletter. Read More…