Hong Kong SFC Regulated Activities
The Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong licenses firms and individuals under thirteen regulated-activity types defined by the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571). Each type below links to the full list of currently-licensed firms in that activity, with counts of active corporations, Responsible Officers and licensed Representatives.
Type 1 — Dealing in securities
1606 active firms · 5143 ROs · 26079 Reps
A Type 1 licence under the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571) permits a corporation to deal in securities — including making or offering to make agreements to acquire, dispose of, subscribe f…
Type 2 — Dealing in futures contracts
322 active firms · 1144 ROs · 7295 Reps
Type 2 licensees are authorised to deal in futures contracts, including making or offering to make agreements to enter into futures contracts. The scope covers exchange-traded futures brokers and prop…
Type 3 — Leveraged foreign exchange trading
29 active firms · 83 ROs · 383 Reps
Type 3 licensees are authorised to engage in leveraged foreign exchange trading, including entering into or offering to enter into leveraged FX contracts. This activity is largely retail-facing and is…
Type 4 — Advising on securities
2281 active firms · 5960 ROs · 16486 Reps
Type 4 licensees provide investment advice on securities — giving advice or issuing analyses or reports concerning securities. This is the licence held by sell-side research houses, independent resear…
Type 5 — Advising on futures contracts
171 active firms · 463 ROs · 929 Reps
Type 5 covers advisory activity on futures contracts and is typically held by commodity trading advisors, managed-futures advisers and brokerages providing institutional research on futures markets in…
Type 6 — Advising on corporate finance
309 active firms · 1170 ROs · 6500 Reps
Type 6 licensees are authorised to advise on corporate finance — primarily IPO sponsor, M&A advisory, takeovers, restructurings and listed-company compliance. Sponsor work on the Hong Kong Stock Excha…
Type 7 — Providing automated trading services
39 active firms · 145 ROs · 507 Reps
Type 7 licensees provide automated trading services — electronic matching of buyers and sellers in securities or futures. The licence covers alternative trading systems, dark pools and crypto ATS oper…
Type 8 — Securities margin financing
5 active firms · 17 ROs · 2 Reps
Type 8 licensees provide securities margin financing — extending credit to clients to finance the acquisition of listed securities. Brokerages offering leveraged accounts to retail and institutional i…
Type 9 — Asset management
2460 active firms · 6045 ROs · 9054 Reps
Type 9 is the discretionary asset-management licence covering hedge funds, mutual funds, private-equity managers, venture-capital managers and managed-account managers. Any firm exercising investment …
Type 10 — Providing credit rating services
11 active firms · 43 ROs · 280 Reps
Type 10 licensees provide credit rating services — preparing credit ratings for dissemination to subscribers or the public. The scope captures S&P, Moody's, Fitch and domestic credit-rating agencies o…
Type 11 — Dealing in OTC derivative products
0 active firms · 0 ROs · 0 Reps
Type 11 covers dealing in OTC derivative products. This licence regime targets dealer-banks, swap dealers and prime brokers offering bilateral OTC derivatives to Hong Kong clients.
Type 12 — Providing clearing agency services
0 active firms · 0 ROs · 0 Reps
Type 12 licensees provide clearing agency services for OTC derivative products — central counterparty (CCP) clearing for swaps and other bilateral OTC instruments.
Type 13 — Providing depositary services for relevant CIS
20 active firms · 51 ROs · 195 Reps
Type 13 licensees act as depositaries for SFC-authorised collective investment schemes (CIS) — trustees and custodians safeguarding mutual fund assets under the UT Code.