A record fine of HK$813.7 million was imposed on five sponsor firms who acted as sponsors in the listing applications of three companies. Other enforcement priorities of the SFC during 2019 include corporate fraud and misgovernance, market misconduct, late disclosure of inside information, and intermediary misconduct and internal control failures. It is expected that these will remain the enforcement focuses of the SFC in 2020. We also expect to see more joint operations between the SFC and the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), as well as possible enforcement actions under the Manager-In-Charge regime.
