Hong Kong SFC Regulated Activities
The Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong licenses firms and individuals under 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
1613 active firms - 5197 ROs - 26281 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 ...
Type 2 - Dealing in futures contracts
321 active firms - 1144 ROs - 7322 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
28 active firms - 82 ROs - 387 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
2308 active firms - 6051 ROs - 16609 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 resea...
Type 5 - Advising on futures contracts
169 active firms - 460 ROs - 938 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
310 active firms - 1192 ROs - 6592 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 Exch...
Type 7 - Providing automated trading services
40 active firms - 150 ROs - 501 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 ope...
Type 8 - Securities margin financing
4 active firms - 16 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 ...
Type 9 - Asset management
2488 active firms - 6129 ROs - 9147 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 - 44 ROs - 272 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 ...
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 - 49 ROs - 202 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.