SFC Urged to Relax Curbs on HK Brokers

A lawmaker has urged the financial regulator to make it easier for stockbrokers to open accounts online for mainland customers and to allow them to conduct asset management business, in a bid to help struggling industry players, NewsNow reported. Christopher Cheung Wah-fung, legislator for the Securities & Futures Commission, said the brokerage industry has faced the challenge of declining turnover as more players have joined the market. “If Hong Kong brokers could open accounts for mainland customers via the internet, it would widen the customer pool for many local brokers,” Cheung said during a media lunch on Monday. The number of stockbrokers trading in the Hong Kong stock market has risen to the highest level in 20 years, with 614 brokers now licensed to trade in the city’s bourse, compared with 604 in March, according to SFC data. In the 12 months to June, 119 new players were granted licenses to begin operating in the city.