The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) released a report detailing its activities in the fourth quarter of 2018 this Friday.
Amidst a range of different activities, the regulator said that it had increased the number of licensees and registrants under its auspices to 46,371. That was a 5 percent increase on the same period last year.
Similarly, the regulator managed to increase the number of corporations that it governs to 2,905 - an almost 10 percent increase on the fourth quarter of 2017.
On top of this, the regulator said that it had conducted 72 on-site inspections for the corporations that it has under its watch.
Over the course of the fourth quarter of last year, the regulator also issued fines to two licensed corporations and four representatives. Those fines totaled KD 2.3 million ($290,000) which, compared to some other regulatory fines issued in other jurisdictions, isn't much.
SFC crypto rules likely
Turning to the world of cryptocurrency, the SFC said that it "aims to bring virtual asset portfolio managers and fund distributors under its regulatory net."
The Hong Kong regulator has taken some steps to do that already. Back in November, it said it would be introducing measures to bring those fund managers and distributors under its control.
Similarly, the regulator also set out a framework by which it could, in the future, begin to regulate platforms that facilitate cryptocurrency trading.
Alongside those efforts, the SFC also highlighted some of the partnerships that it formed in the final quarter of 2018.
During those three months, the watchdog established mutual recognition of funds agreements with the UK's Financial Conduct Authority and the Luxembourg Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier.
An SFC initiative, mutual recognition of funds agreements allows asset managers in partner countries to distribute funds amongst investors in Hong Kong and vice versa for fund managers in the east Asian jurisdiction.
