According to Odaily, the Hong Kong Securities Regulatory Commission (SFC) has released its 2023-24 annual report. The report reveals that as of March 3, 2024, the total number of licensed institutions and individuals, as well as registered institutions, reached 47,851. This includes 44,493 licensed individuals, 112 registered institutions, and 3,246 licensed institutions. Among these, 2,140 were granted licenses to carry out Type 9 (asset management) regulated activities.
The report also mentions that 23 applications were submitted under the Anti-Money Laundering Ordinance for virtual asset trading platforms. Out of these, four were from existing applicants under the Securities and Futures Ordinance for virtual asset trading platform licenses, while 19 were new applications. As of March 31, 2024, licenses had been issued to two virtual asset trading platforms under the Securities and Futures Ordinance, and 234 on-site inspections were conducted on licensed institutions and related entities.
The SFC also reported that the first tokenized private open-ended fund company registered with the SFC was established in December 2023. The first tokenized retail gold product was approved by the SFC in March 2024.