Compliance
Compliance Corner: Wealth Management Connect – New Licensed Corporations

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Chinese regulators have announced the names of 14 licensed
corporations (LCs) that can take part in the expanded Wealth
Management Connect (WMC) scheme in the Greater Bay Area.
The LCs represent the first batch of brokers to offer
cross-boundary investment services for Greater Bay Area
investors.
The announcement follows Hong Kong recently being described as
likely to overtake Switzerland as the world’s largest
cross-border financial centre, in part because of the WMC system
that was originally launched in 2021.
Initially, the WMC was only open to banks seeking to tap into
two-way flows between Hong Kong, mainland China and Macao. In
January this year, China’s central bank issued guidance on how
the scheme should operate, after it had opned it to Greater Bay
Area securities firms.
The LCs are China Galaxy International Securities (Hong Kong) Co;
China Industrial Securities International Brokerage; China
International Capital Corporation Hong Kong Securities; China
Merchants Securities (HK) Co; China PA Securities (Hong Kong)
Company; China Securities (International) Brokerage Company;
CITIC Securities Brokerage (HK) Limited, GF Securities (Hong
Kong) Brokerage; Guosen Securities (HK) Brokerage Company; Guotai
Junan Securities (Hong Kong); Huatai Financial Holdings (Hong
Kong); SDICS International Securities (Hong Kong); Shenwan
Hongyuan Securities (H K); and Zhongtai International Securities
Limited.
“Today’s announcement marks another significant milestone for the
brokerage industry and the WMC scheme in terms of enhancing the
connectivity of financial markets in the GBA and fostering Hong
Kong’s wealth management business,” Julia Leung, CEO of the
Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong, said. “The
SFC will continue to work with stakeholders to further enhance
and expand the WMC scheme, as well as addressing the evolving
cross-boundary needs of investors and the industry.”
The China Securities Regulatory Commission said it will announce
the list of confirmed mainland partner brokers separately.
The WMC and other cross-border investments schemes offer ways for
mainland China to cement the Greater Bay Area’s financial
prowess. Hong Kong, meanwhile, has brought out several programmes
to attract family offices, sharpening its rivalry with hubs such
as Singapore.