SFC approves six registrars ahead of USM launch, with two cleared for electronic-title services

The Securities and Futures Commission announced six approved securities registrars on 12 October ahead of Hong Kong’s uncertificated securities market regime. The approvals begin on 16 November. Two firms are initially approved for the specialised systems that evidence and transfer legal title electronically.[1]

Issuers of prescribed listed securities must maintain an approved registrar once the regime starts. New uncertificated listings require a USM-enabled registrar. The five-year transition for existing issuers concerns securities constituted under the laws of Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, mainland China or Hong Kong.[1]

An electronic register does not describe every custody arrangement

The registrar’s authority concerns the functions it may perform. A broker customer’s legal position also depends on how the holding is registered and whether an intermediary holds legal title for beneficial owners. Moving records away from paper does not by itself resolve that separate custody question.

For issuers choosing a provider, the useful distinction is therefore functional: ordinary register administration versus the specific USM services required for electronic legal-title processes. The initial two-provider count is not a prediction of future market share or a finding that the other four failed a suitability test.

The announced approvals establish the starting authorisation set. They do not establish that every broker, issuer and custodian has completed all operational changes for the November launch.[1]

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