What is SFC and How it Came into Existence

The SFC or Securities and Futures Commission is an independent statutory body that is functional in Hong Kong. This particular government body is responsible for regulating and watching over the securities and futures market in this city. It is the SFC that is responsible for fostering orderliness and ensuring balance across these markets. It works to protect the interest of investors. It also regulates and implements various SFC compliance to help make sure that Hong Kong continues to grow financially.

It aims to transform this city into the leading international financial center of the world and make it emerge as the key financial market of China. Even though this body is said to be functional as a branch of government, it actually runs independently under law authorization related to the futures and securities.

History

This body was formed in the year 1989 in order to rectify the damage that occurred during the stock market crash of October 1987. After the Asian financial crisis that took place in 1997 the regulatory framework of SFC compliance was further improved. In 2003 SFO was implemented. It stands for Securities and Futures Ordinance (SFO). This framework further bettered and expanded the overall regulatory powers and functioning of this government body.

There are four main regulatory organizations functional in Hong Kong that work as financial regulators. SFC is one of them. This is one of the major financial centers of the world. The rest three are the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority, Office of the Commissioner of Insurance, and Hong Kong Monetary Authority. Securities and Futures Commissions oversees the activities of Hong Kong stock exchange.