Huang Tianyou: Market integrity can bring unique economic dividends. Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission strictly monitors the quality of new stock disclosures and cracks down on market corruption.

Chairman of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, Carlson Tong attended a seminar of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and delivered a speech entitled "Integrity as the Cornerstone of Prosperity", emphasizing that integrity is not just a policy slogan, but the fundamental cornerstone of economic development. Drawing from his experience as Chairman of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, Chairman of the Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption's Advisory Committee on Corruption Prevention, and former director of a listed company, he highlighted the unique economic dividends that market integrity can bring, the multi-level regulatory actions needed to uphold market integrity, and the indispensable role of educating market integrity. Tong pointed out that in order to safeguard Hong Kong's financial ecosystem, it is necessary to build defenses structurally and comprehensively across three levels: at the company level, intermediaries, and the market system. He mentioned that the Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption will launch the Integrity Compliance Management System (ICMS) by the end of 2026, which will include 5 practical pillars such as customized integrity policies, capacity building, and anti-corruption risk management, aimed at transforming integrity from an abstract concept to actionable corporate discipline. At the intermediaries level, he reiterated the mandatory requirement for all licensed financial companies to implement strict internal controls and diligent due diligence, emphasizing the importance of IPO sponsors as a core focus. He highlighted that the Securities and Futures Commission has already pointed out the decline in the quality of disclosure in some new IPO applications and requested sponsors to rectify it immediately. The primary responsibility of sponsors is to ensure market quality. Additionally, the Securities and Futures Commission will continue to work with the Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption to dismantle corrupt networks within licensed institutions. Hong Kong achieved its first criminal conviction related to illegal short selling this year and froze assets involved in cross-boundary market manipulation cases through global freezing orders. Tong mentioned that Hong Kong is now the leading cross-border wealth management center, with assets under management (AUM) totaling $2.95 trillion. Over the past 40 years since its establishment in 1989, the number of listed companies in Hong Kong has increased more than 8 times, and total market value has skyrocketed by 70 times, demonstrating the compounding returns brought by "integrity investments".