Raffles Family Office welcomed Hong Kong’s 2026-27 Budget, saying proposed enhancements to the family office tax regime would help cement the city’s position as a global wealth hub, while urging policies to cover both single- and multi-family offices in tandem, Group CEO Chi Man Kwan said. He pointed to a government-backed market study showing Hong Kong had more than 3,380 single-family offices by end-2025, up over 25% in two years. The budget includes plans to legislate this

The Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission has eased IPO free-float rules for large listings, introducing a tiered public ownership framework aimed at unlocking mega-IPOs as the market struggles to absorb big deals. Under SEC Memorandum Circular No. 11, issuers expecting market capitalisation above PHP50bn (USD890m) at listing must sell at least 15% to the public, subject to a minimum offer size of PHP10bn, versus the previous flat 20% requirement. For firms valued at

China urged the US to scrap unilateral US tariffs after the Supreme Court, in a 6-3 ruling, struck down many of President Donald Trump’s levies as beyond his authority under a 1977 emergency-powers law. Trump responded by unveiling a flat duty on imports worldwide, lifting the rate from 10% to 15% under a separate legal provision. China’s commerce ministry said it was conducting a comprehensive assessment of the decision and called on Washington to quickly end tariff measures

Bursa Malaysia said it will overhaul how it reports who is trading its shares, splitting investors using nominee accounts into ‘large’ and ‘small’ categories from April 6, as it seeks to improve market transparency. Nominee structures separate legal from beneficial ownership and are widely used by online platforms, meaning some retail orders have been showing up in data as institutional or foreign activity. Bursa said the change followed market feedback seeking clearer measur

The IMF issued an IMF warning on China economic policies, urging Beijing to pivot toward domestic consumer spending and saying a shift to a consumption-led growth model should be the top priority, as the fund warned China’s large current-account surplus is creating adverse spillovers for trading partners, according to an IMF board statement alongside its annual Article IV review. The IMF said part of the external imbalance reflects export support from a real depreciation of t

Business units linked to Hong Kong billionaire Henry Cheng’s Chow Tai Fook Group agreed to pay up to HKD1.5bn (USD192m) to Giordano International shareholders after the Securities and Futures Commission found a Hong Kong takeover rules breach tied to the retailer’s ownership structure. The regulator said Chow Tai Fook Nominee and concert parties failed to make a mandatory general offer at HKD3.60 a share in 2016 when their combined stake topped 30%. It also cited a 2022 breac

SBI Coinhako acquisition plans will make the Singapore digital-asset platform a consolidated subsidiary of the Japanese group, as SBI Holdings moves to expand its regional crypto footprint. Under the SBI Coinhako acquisition, SBI’s wholly owned unit SBI Ventures Asset Pte. Ltd. has signed a letter of intent with Holdbuild Pte. Ltd. to inject capital into Coinhako Group and buy shares from existing investors, with the final structure and price still under discussion and subjec

Vietnam credit-quota reform could reshape competition in the banking sector as the country pilots the removal of long-standing growth limits from 2026 and rolls out Basel III-style capital rules, S&P Global Ratings said. S&P said Vietnam credit-quota reform would shift the system away from administrative controls toward more market-based discipline, allowing well-capitalised banks to expand lending based on capacity rather than assigned quotas. However, it called the move a d

Hong Kong regulated crypto trading tools are being expanded as the Securities and Futures Commission loosened rules to allow licensed brokers to provide margin financing for digital-asset trading while setting guardrails for more leveraged products to deepen market liquidity. The SFC said brokers may extend financing to clients with strong credit profiles and adequate collateral, initially limited to bitcoin and ether but potentially expanded later. It also issued a high-leve

South Korea crypto exchange inspections were widened as regulators launched on-site checks of major platforms days after Bithumb mistakenly credited customers with 620,000 so-called ghost bitcoins. An emergency task force comprising regulators and the Digital Asset Exchange Alliance will inspect Upbit, Coinone, Korbit and Gopax, focusing on asset-verification procedures and internal controls, authorities said in a report to the National Assembly. The Financial Supervisory Ser

Vietnam crypto transfer tax proposal would exempt cryptocurrency transfers and trading from value-added tax while imposing a 0.1% personal income tax on the gross value of each transfer, mirroring the levy used for securities transactions, according to a draft circular opened for public consultation by the finance ministry. Individual investors would pay the tax regardless of residency status. For organisations established in Vietnam, income from crypto-asset transfers would

Hong Kong family office tax breaks precious metals coverage will be expanded as the city plans to broaden preferential regimes for funds and family offices to include investments in precious metals, including gold-linked exchange-traded funds, Financial Services and the Treasury Secretary Christopher Hui said. Hui also said Hong Kong and Shenzhen have signed a memorandum to jointly develop gold processing and trading, encouraging collaboration between Hong Kong merchants and

Hong Kong digital finance strategy was in focus at a forum convened by the Chief Executive’s Policy Unit to discuss how the city can support China’s push to become a financial powerhouse by advancing digital finance use cases, balancing regulation with development and linking more closely with mainland infrastructure. The forum brought together participants from Hong Kong and mainland China, including researchers from the People’s Bank of China’s research institute, members o

South Korea crypto regulation crackdown calls intensified after the financial watchdog said Bithumb’s accidental distribution of more than USD40bn worth of bitcoin to customers showed the need for tougher rules to address vulnerabilities in trading systems. Financial Supervisory Service Governor Lee Chan-jin said regulators will factor in lessons from the incident as they pursue legislation to bring digital assets under tighter oversight, and flagged concerns including so-cal

China virtual currency restrictions will be tightened further as authorities reiterated that crypto assets lack the same legal status as fiat money and that related business activities amount to illegal financial activities, according to a notice released by the central bank and other agencies. Officials said that without official approval, domestic entities and the overseas entities they control are prohibited from issuing virtual currencies overseas, underscoring Beijing’s

Indonesia listing rules free float requirements are set to tighten after the stock exchange published draft proposals following a sharp sell-off that drew attention from index provider MSCI. Under the plan, companies with pre-listing market capitalisation above IDR50tr (USD3.8bn) would need a minimum free float of 15% at IPO, up from 10%, while smaller issuers would face higher thresholds. The draft also requires issuers to maintain the minimum free float for at least one yea

Hong Kong Fintech 2030 plan initiatives will focus on more advanced applications of artificial intelligence and distributed ledger technology, backed by high-performance computing, as the city seeks to strengthen its fintech ecosystem. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority said the blueprint includes four flagship projects covering areas such as quantum computing, risk data, cybersecurity, and skills development, alongside events, competitions, platform upgrades, and hands-on work

Singapore safe-harbour rules are being proposed to make it easier for listed companies to publish earnings guidance, as regulators seek feedback on amendments to the Securities and Futures Act and draft rules for a new Global Listing Board to facilitate dual listings. The proposal would introduce US-style protections for forward-looking statements. Market observers said more projections could improve transparency and narrow information gaps, but warned investors must test ass

Hong Kong Switzerland financial dialogue talks were held in Bern as the two sides convened their eighth Financial Dialogue to deepen cooperation in financial services and discuss policy challenges, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority said. Co-organised by the HKMA and Switzerland’s State Secretariat for International Finance, the meeting was chaired by HKMA deputy chief executive Darryl Chan and SIF deputy state secretary Christoph König, with officials from the Swiss National B

Hong Kong OTC clearing periods could be permanently standardised from 2027 under a joint proposal by the Securities and Futures Commission and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. The regulators launched a consultation to fix the annual calculation periods used under the city’s OTC derivatives clearing regime, aiming to reduce frequent rule changes. If adopted, the rules would designate two fixed windows each year—March 1 to May 31 and September 1 to November 30—giving market pa