HONG KONG: SFC to Launch Uncertificated Securities Market Regime

Friday April 18 2025

On 17^th April 2025, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) announced the enactment of all necessary legislation to pave the way for the implementation of the uncertificated securities market initiative (USM) in early 2026 subject to market readiness.

The SFC also launched a dedicated USM webpage to provide one-stop access to all useful information. The webpage includes a set of frequently asked questions to help listed issuers and investors better understand their rights and obligations under USM.

Among the key changes under USM:

• Newly listed securities will have to be in paperless form from the time of listing, meaning investors will no longer be able to hold these securities in paper form.
• For existing securities, investors may continue to hold their paper certificates, which will not be invalidated. Meanwhile, specific deadlines will be set for each issuer to take steps to enable investors to hold and transfer the securities in their own names without paper. Thereafter, issuers will no longer be able to issue new paper certificates.

Click on the above link for further information