Xu Zhengyu moved for the second reading of the “Securities and Futures Amendment Bill” to improve the restructuring mechanism of Hong Kong housing trust funds and strengthen the supervision of listed funds

Zhitong Finance App learned that on November 11, Hong Kong's Secretary for Treasury, Mr Hui Ching-yu, moved for the second reading of the 2026 Securities and Futures (Amendment) Bill at the Legislative Council meeting. The bill aims to optimize the housing trust fund system, make up for shortcomings in the regulation of listed collective investment schemes, and consolidate Hong Kong's position as a global asset and wealth management center.

Xu Zhengyu said that with the support of the country's “15th Five-Year Plan”, Hong Kong has become the world's largest cross-border wealth management center; by the end of 2025, the scale of Hong Kong's asset management had risen 20% year-on-year to 42.2 trillion Hong Kong dollars, a record high. The Hong Kong government continues to consolidate the advantages of the wealth management industry through measures such as developing family offices, optimizing the fund tax system, and supporting the listing of housing trust funds.

This regulation revision contains two core elements: First, the addition of statutory restructuring and compulsory acquisition mechanisms for housing trust funds. The Act refers to the framework of the “Company Regulations” to provide clear legal rules for mergers, acquisitions and privatization of housing trust funds, and at the same time makes targeted adjustments based on the characteristics of housing trust products to protect the rights and interests of fund unit holders and enhance the liquidity of the housing trust market. Second, improve the supervisory system for listed collective investment plans. The current regulations and regulations are biased towards listed companies. This revision officially covers market misconduct, disclosure of insider information, and disclosure of rights rules to listed collective investment plans, and is in line with international regulatory standards to further protect investors' rights and maintain the steady operation of the market.

According to reports, the relevant revised plan received widespread support from the industry during the public consultation phase of the Securities Regulatory Commission, and the Legislative Council Committee on Financial Affairs was also widely approved by members of parliament when seeking comments in July this year.

The bill will be implemented in two stages: optimization of the housing trust fund system, supervision and revision of market misconduct, which will take effect immediately after publication; the implementation of the new insider information and rights disclosure regulations will be delayed until December 4, 2027, to allow sufficient time for the industry to complete the adaptation of systems and processes.

Hui Ching-yu called on members of the Legislative Council to support the bill to further strengthen the competitiveness of Hong Kong's asset management industry and enhance investor protection.