The Asian Law Centre of SJTU, the Centre for Asian Legal Studies &
the Centre for Banking and Finance Law of NUS
Proudly Invite You to its November 2014 Symposium on
Asian Financial Centres’ Development and Regulation:
A Comparative Study from Singapore, Hong Kong and Mainland China
Time & Venue:
21-22 November 2014
KoGuan Law School, SJTU
1954 Huashan Road
200030 Shanghai
China
Programme:
Friday 21 November 2014
8h30-9h10: Opening Ceremony
Opening Remarks:
Director Professor Andrew James Harding – Asian Law Institute and Centre of Asian Legal Studies, Law Faculty, NUS
Welcoming Address:
Dean Prof. Weidong Ji – KoGuan Law School, SJTU
Keynote Speech: International Financial Centres as Allocators of Growth Capital: What Role for Institutions?
Professor Emilios Avgouleas – School of Law, University of Edinburgh
9h10-11h00: Panel I – Legal Framework of Financial Market Access
GATS, TPP and China’s Financial Market Access
Professor Jiaxiang Hu, KoGuan Law School, SJTU
Liberalization for an International Financial Centre: Singapore’s Experiences for Shanghai
Associate Professor Jiangyu Wang, Law Faculty, NUS
Market Access and a Level Playing Field in China as a Socialist Market Economy
Professor Xianchu Zhang, Law Faculty, Hong Kong University
11h00-11h10: Tea Break (Esplanade)
11h10-13h00: Panel II – Currency Internationalisation and Risk Avoidance
Regulating the Internationalization of Currency: Contrasting Experiences of Singapore and Taiwan
Dr. Weitseng Chen, Law Faculty, NUS
Renminbi Internationalization and its Legal Problems
Associate Professor Tao Huang, KoGuan Law School, SJTU
The Reform of IPO System in China: Toward a Registration System
Professor Jing Leng, International School of Finance Law, ECUPL
13h00-14h00: Photo & Luncheon
14h00-18h00: Panel III – Innovation of Financial Products and Regulation of Financial Markets
P2P Lending in China: Popularity, Risks and Regulation
Professor Wei Shen, KoGuan Law School, SJTU
Regulating China’s Internet Money Market Fund: Legal Grey Area and International Experience
Dr. Xiaoye Jin, International School of Finance Law, ECUPL
Positioning Singapore as an International Centre for Fund-raising
Associate Professor Alexander F. H. Loke, Law Faculty, NUS
Tea Break (Esplanade)
Development of Banking and Financial Services in Singapore
Associate Professor Dora Neo, Law Faculty, NUS
Financial Product Innovations and the Challenges of Marketing Financial Services in Hong Kong
Professor Douglas Arner, Law Faculty, Hong Kong University
A Chinese National Market System
Professor David Donald, Law Faculty, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
18h30:20h30: Welcome Banquet (Faculty Club)
Saturday 22 November 2014
9h00-13h00: Panel IV – Crack-down on Financial Crimes and Anti-Corruption
Trends and Countermeasures to Money Laundering in China (Shanghai) Free Trade Zone
Professor Shaoqian Zhang, KoGuan Law School, SJTU
Cracking the Whip on Financial Crimes in Singapore
Mr. Hamidul Haq, Equity Partner, Rajah & Tann LLP of Singapore
Hong Kong’s Criminal Law Framework for Financial Centre Development
Professor Simon N. M. Young, Law Faculty, Hong Kong University
Tea Break (Esplanade)
The Regulatory Function of Financial Prosecution: Experiences in Shanghai
Professor and Prosecutor Kai Xiao, Shanghai Prosecution Service
Corruption in Singapore
Mr. Thong Chee Kun, Equity Partner, Rajah & Tann LLP of Singapore
Anti-Corruption Law and Enforcement in Hong Kong
Associate Professor Michael Jackson, Law Faculty, Hong Kong University
Closing Remarks:
Director Prof. Jiaxiang Hu, Asian Law Centre, KoGuan Law School, SJTU
Dr. Matthias Vanhullebusch, Series Editor of Asian Law Series, KoGuan Law School, SJTU
Speakers List, Abstracts & Biographies:
Arner, Douglas
Title:
Financial Product Innovations and the Challenges of Marketing Financial Services in Hong Kong
Abstract:
This presentation will discuss the role of financial innovation in financial centre development, focusing on the role of law and regulation. In particular, the paper will discuss experiences in Hong Kong and other major financial centres following the global financial crisis of 2008 and subsequent regulatory changes, in particular as they relate to the activities of global financial institutions.
Biography:
Douglas W. Arner is a Professor in the Faculty of Law of the University of Hong Kong and Project Coordinator of a major five-year project funded by the Hong Kong Research Grants Council Theme-based Research Scheme on “Enhancing Hong Kong’s Future as a Leading International Financial Centre”. In addition, he is Co-Director of the Duke University-HKU Asia-America Institute in Transnational Law, and a Senior Visiting Fellow of Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne. Douglas served as Head of the HKU Department of Law from 2011 to 2014 and from 2006 to 2011 he was theDirector of HKU’s Asian Institute of International Financial Law, which he co-founded in 1999 along with the LLM in Corporate and Financial Law (of which he serves as Director).
He has published thirteen books, including Finance in Asia: Institutions, Regulation and Policy (Routledge 2013), From Crisis to Crisis: The Global Financial Crisis and Regulatory Failure (Kluwer 2011), and Financial Stability, Economic Growth and the Role of Law (Cambridge University Press 2007), and more than 100 articles, chapters and reports on international financial law and regulation. His recent papers are available at http://ssrn.com/authors=524849.
Douglas is a member of the Hong Kong Financial Services Development Council and of the International Advisory Board of the Australian Centre for International Finance and Regulation. He has served as a consultant with, among others, the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, APEC, and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and has lectured, co-organised conferences and seminars and been involved with financial sector reform projects in over 20 economies in Africa, Asia and Europe. He has been a visiting professor or fellow at the Universities of London,McGill, Melbourne, New South Wales, Singapore and Zurich, as well as the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics and Hong Kong Institute for Monetary Research.
Avgouleas, Emilios
Title:
International Financial Centres as Allocators of Growth Capital: What Role for Institutions?
Abstract:
Keynote addresses normally are great opportunities to engage in some out of the box thinking. This is also the purpose of the present keynote. In principle, International financial centres are no more than a mechanism to ameliorate such frictions in the global allocation of capital as taxation, capital controls, regulation, transaction costs, and legal obstacles. In practice, they are hubs where talent, skills, expertise, and capital converge, aided by supportive tax and regulatory regimes. Generally speaking International financial centres fall into three broad categories. First, financial centres standing at the apex of a very strong domestic economy, as is the case with New York and Shanghai. Secondly, financial centres that mostly act as a gateway to a very strong neighbouring economy (the EU or the Chinese mainland) with which there are either legal ties, as is the case of London, or political ties, as is the case of Hong Kong. Finally, there is the example of financial centres which act on a purely offshore basis, as is the case of Singapore, Dubai, and others. Most of the financial centres in the purely offshore class strive to build a market niche and become the forum of choice for a certain segment of global finance, for example derivatives trading and clearing, Islamic finance, bond issues or equity underwritings.
Shanghai, the new-comer to the group, faces acute an dilemma regarding which route it should take to grow its reputation as an international financial centre and magnify its market share. In my keynote address, I argue that Shanghai cannot build reputation and market share without harnessing the strengths of the Chinese economy and addressing some of its most pressing challenges, while acting as a bridge between the Chinese and other Asian economies and global markets. Arguably, the biggest challenges the Chinese economy faces are, first, a dearth of entrepreneurial capital to aid the Chinese economy to move away from its dependence on SOEs, which are in some cases a cause of serious economic inefficiency. Secondly, a shift to sustainable development projects, and, thirdly, identification of safe forms of high yield investment to gradually defuse the time-bomb that shadow banks present.
Therefore, Shanghai is uniquely placed to host a global hub for the import and export of entrepreneurial and long-term finance and to offer a locus to emerging BRICS development institutions to raise such finance from the markets. If, instead, Shanghai opts to attract the various forms of ‘loose’ finance that dominate global markets, aiding their operators to move their business away from strictly regulated Western financial centres, Shanghai runs the risk of importing the systemic and confidence risks that plague these parts of global finance with unforeseen consequences.
However, to develop a global hub for long-term and entrepreneurial finance Shanghai needs to build the right regulatory framework and move away from the relaxed enforcement practices of some other financial centres, with the notable exception of New York. This keynote focuses on a comprehensive system of, institutions, incentives, and sanctions that could help Shanghai achieve this goal.
Biography:
Professor Emilios Avgouleas is the inaugural holder of the International Banking Law and Finance Chair at the University of Edinburgh. He is also the Head of the Commercial Law (subject area) group in Edinburgh Law School and the director of the Edinburgh LLM in International Banking Law and Finance.
Emilios is an acknowledged expert on financial market regulation, banking law and finance, and global economic governance. He has published extensively in the wider field of International and European finance law and economics and behavioural finance with leading journals. He is also the author of two acclaimed monographs: Governance of Global Financial Markets: The Law, the Economics, the Politics (Cambridge, 2012); The Mechanics and Regulation of Market Abuse: A Legal and Economic Analysis (Oxford, 2005). He co-authors with Sir Ross Cranston of the next edition of Principles of Banking Law (Oxford, 2014).
Emilios’ work was recently discussed as paradigm shifting by theFinancial Times and it has been cited in financial market policy reports and impact studies published by the EU Commission, the House of Lords - EU Committee, and the Irish Commission on Banking. He frequently gives evidence before Parliamentary and government Committees both in the UK and abroad.
Emilios was before joining Edinburgh a University Professor of International Financial Markets and Financial Law at the University of Manchester. He is also a qualified lawyer with many years of practice in the field of global markets. He has practised extensively in the broader field of International financial law and structured finance. He worked as an Associate with Clifford Chance LLP and as a Managing Associate at the Financial Markets Group of Linklaters, and as an equity partner at a large European Law Firm.
Emilios has advised, as an expert, governments, development organisations, and central banks on issues ranging from bank rescues to sovereign debt restructuring and financial stability and on issues of economic development and market integrity. He has also worked with leading NGOs on issues of structural reform in the banking sector and ethical finance and economic development. During his time in f/t practice, Emilios worked on or led cutting edge advisory and transactional projects in the fields of structured finance, sovereign debt, and financial regulation with a distinctly global focus.
Chen, Weitseng
Title:
Regulating the Internationalization of Currency: Contrasting Experiences of Singapore and Taiwan
Abstract:
In the context of RMB internationalization, I will introduce a comparative perspective as to how to manage and regulate the risks resulting from internationalizing currency and liberalizing the capital account control. Singapore’s experiences are the main focus of this paper, with Taiwan’s reforms on capital account as the supplement.
Both Singapore and Taiwan adopted a non-internationalization policy for their respective currency due to different considerations. While Singapore concerned speculative attacks on its domestic capital markets by various international actors, Taiwan worried about the impacts on its monopolistic state-owned banks and informal banking sectors. As a result, both implemented different strategies in the 1980s to transform their non-internationalization policies toward more transparent and less regulated models. In the end, Singapore adopts an exchange rate-cantered approach and Taiwan focuses on both exchange and interest rates to regulate the risks associated with free capital account.
In this paper I will also identify the factors that would decide the respective sequence and focus of currency policy reforms in light of Singapore’s and Taiwan’s experiences. Factors include, for example, size of the market, liquidity management mechanisms, and existing fiscal and banking systems. Such comparative analyses would allow China greater latitude in developing the approach for internalizing RMB.
Biography:
Weitseng Chen is Assistant Professor of the National University of Singapore (NUS) Faculty of Law. Before he joined NUS in 2011, Dr. Chen has been the Hewlett Fellow at The Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law, Stanford University. He has also practiced law at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, specializing in international capital markets and financial institutions
Donald, David
Title:
A Chinese National Market System
Abstract:
China entered the twenty-first century with a very limited financial market infrastructure: two government owned securities exchanges, one in Shanghai and one in Shenzhen, plus a number of venues for OTC activity, and of course the exchanges in its Region of Hong Kong. However, the massive Chinese economy demands a network of capital allocation that is both broad and densely deployed throughout its national territory. As one response, China has taken initial steps toward linking securities exchanges within its national markets through a direct link between the Hong Kong and Shanghai bourses. This choice takes place against the background both of the primitive linkage of these exchanges through the listing of H-shares in Hong Kong and of a transformation of financial markets in highly developed countries that has led to their fragmentation into constellations of competing matching engines that are opaque, easy to game, and operationally precarious. In its linking project, China has chosen both to circumvent the business of dual listing and to avoid fragmenting its markets by stimulating competition among multiple order matching venues (the US and EU model). The model used in China was first set up in ASEAN. China should continue linking its own markets, creating a national market infrastructure that is co-operable with the linked markets of ASEAN, and look toward becoming the hub of an Asian securities market network. Unlike dual listing through H-shares, this linkage of existing markets does not shift the costs of market linkage to issuers, and unlike the model employed in the US and EU, this linkage of existing markets does not create new profit opportunities for broker-dealers through establishing dark pools or high frequency trading. Rather, the framework reduces costs for both issues and investors while subjecting local brokers in every financial centre to potentially fierce competition from non-locals. For this reason, it can be expected that the international financial industry will advise against the ASEAN/China model. This paper explains why the model linking (rather than fragmenting) existing markets is the best choice, and should not only be continued, but expanded.
Biography:
David C. Donald is a Professor in the Law Faculty of The Chinese University of Hong Kong. David previously taught at the Institute for Law and Finance of the University of Frankfurt, Germany and worked as a commercial lawyer in the US and Europe. His publications include A Financial Centre for Two Empires: Hong Kong’s Corporate, Securities and Tax Laws in its Transition from Britain to China (Cambridge University Press, 2014), The Hong Kong Stock and Futures Exchanges – Law and Microstructure (Thomson, Sweet & Maxwell 2012), and Comparative Company Law: Text and Cases on the Laws Governing Germany the UK and the USA (with Andreas Cahn) (Cambridge University Press, 2010). He is participating with scholars from other universities on a Hong Kong Research Grants Council funded project, “Enhancing the Future of Hong Kong as a Leading International Financial Centre.” David is currently a member of Hong Kong’s Standing Committee for Company Law Reform and its Financial Policy Research Committee.:
Haq, Hamidul
Title:
Cracking the Whip on Financial Crimes in Singapore
Abstract:
In preserving her position as an internationally renowned financial hub, Singapore has demonstrated the tenacity and political will to maintain an unwaveringly high standard of law enforcement to preserve the integrity of the market place. In particular, the unforgiving attitude of Singapore’s legal and regulatory authorities towards financial crimes is a strong pull factor for investors from around the globe.
Singapore’s success, in this respect, is in no small part due to the vigilance of enforcement institutions such as the Commercial Affairs Department, Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau and other various departments of the Singapore Police Force. Armed with wide-ranging powers of arrest, seizure, freezing of accounts, summons to interviews, detention of passports and other similar enforcement measures, the authorities are able to keep close tabs on both suspected offenders and offenders. Their task is aided by Singapore’s robust statutory laws which cover an increasingly extensive range of financial offences, such as the Securities and Futures Act, the Penal Code, the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Corruption Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act.
This paper outlines the roles of the relevant authorities in dealing with financial crimes in Singapore. It should be noted that Singapore has historically had a low rate of corruption in her public sector, which stands as a strong contrast against the high levels of corruption in her neighbouring South East Asian countries. It is argued that the Singapore government makes a point of ensuring that its employees are well remunerated and, therefore, are less prone to corruption. By examining developments in the law relating to a spate of high-profile cases of corruption, fraud and money-laundering in recent times, this paper also investigates the depth of the powers made available to the relevant authorities. The circumstances under which the most invasive of measures are taken against suspects of financial crimes will also be described. Although these enforcement methods are largely still in their infancy, they have proven to act as an effective deterrent. A closer inspection, however, is absolutely necessary to mitigate the perceived stark imbalance of power that the authorities’ possess and to ensure suspected offenders are not prejudiced even before conviction.
Biography:
Hamidul Haq joined Rajah & Tann LLP as a Partner in 2006 after his extensive experience with the Commercial Affairs Department and the Attorney-General’s Chambers. His involvement bolstered the Commercial Litigation Practice in its strength and dominance in the legal circle, particularly in the area of securities law, business crimes, fraud and commercial litigation practice. He now gives advice to corporate and individual clients in these areas, as well as advice on anti-money laundering matters. Prior to joining Rajah & Tann LLP, Haq was a Deputy Senior State Counsel/Deputy Public Prosecutor of the Criminal Justice Division, Attorney-General's Chambers dealing mostly with white collar crime in the corporate and securities space. His work included dealing with civil penalty actions for market misconduct under the Securities and Futures Act.
Hu, Jiaxiang
Title:
GATS, TPP and China’s Financial Market Access
Abstract:
The General Agreement on Trade in Services, for the first time, provides a framework to discipline the measures on the market access for trade in services. Nevertheless, commitments made under the GATS are optional, i.e. the binding effect is limited to the areas in which each Member has specified in the positive list submitted when it acceded to the WTO. As a result, the disparity of Members’ commitments is no less than the difference of their economic development levels. Unlike the GATS practice, the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement negotiators have adopted the “high-quality” approach towards the market access commitments. Given that the TPP is a possible forerunner to a larger project of Asia-Pacific wide economic integration, the expectation is that it must not only be “GATS-plus”, but rather has to go beyond the most comprehensive services agreement to date. This would point towards building a new type of commitments for the services market on the elements already contained in the latest version of the so-called “NAFTA-type” agreements, the essence of which is the adoption of the negative list. The Chinese government decided, on September 28, 2013, to set up Shanghai Free Trade Pilot Zone as its testing ground for the next round of reforms. One crucial difference between the SFTPZ and the previous special economic zones in China is that the SFTPZ has not received any tax breaks or incentive policies, but is encouraged to experiment on a series of innovative measures including those to widen financial markets. The SFTPZ has adopted the negative-list approach which will make the approval procedures more transparent since the registration for market access to the sectors outside the list is almost approved automatically.
Biography:
Jiaxiang Hu (BA, MA (Hangzhou University), MPhil (Zhejiang University), PhD (University of Edinburgh)) is Professor of International Law and Director of the Asian Law Centre of KoGuan Law School, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China. Visiting Professor of International Economic Law Institute, Georgetown University (October 2008-January 2009) and Harvard Law School (February-March 2009). Research fellow of the Asian Law Institute, National University of Singapore (February-March 2014). Editor-in-Chief of Asian Law Series. Authors of five books and more than one hundred articles and working papers including “The Role of WTO Law in the Development of International Law” (No. 1, 2004, JEIL), The WTO Dispute Settlement Mechanism (Zhejiang University Press, 2005). Research areas include public international law, international economic law, WTO law.
Huang, Tao
Title:
Renminbi Internationalization and its Legal Problems
Abstract:
The campaign to promote Renminbi as an international currency began in 2007, with China’s introduction of RMB-denominated bonds issued outside of mainland China. This was followed in 2010 by a trade settlement scheme allowing for RMB transactions between Chinese and foreign businesses, and in 2011 measures were implemented permitting RMB-denominated direct investment, both into and out of China. Recently, the People’s Bank of China signed a high-profile currency swap agreement with its European counterpart, the European Central Bank, adding to the list of 23 territories with such agreements in place with China.
Against this background, the thesis will discuss various legal aspects of the Renminbi internationalization, including the reform of the international monetary legal system, the legal framework that we can we adopt to draft proposals on the possible process of Renminbi internationalization, the evolution of China’s exchange rate policies and the related domestic and international legal issues, and how we can manage the risks prudently through effective legislation and law enforcement to ensure the monetary and financial stability.
In particular, with the launch of the Shanghai FTZ, the RMB has certainly turned a corner in terms of internationalization, but a series of legal obstacles remain before it can truly play a vital role in the international financial market. The thesis will also discuss this important issue and try to give some policy suggestions.
Biography:
Tao Huang is currently Associate Professor of Shanghai Jiao Tong University KoGuan Law School. Prof. Huang was awarded the Ph.D. degree of Law in 2010 and Master degree of Laws in 2006 at Peking University Law School. Prior to his graduate research, Prof. Huang studied at School of Economics, Fudan University as an undergraduate student and was awarded Bachelor of Economics in 2002. The main research field of Prof. Huang is business law, especially financial law. In recent years, Prof. Huang has published several papers and monographs relating to financial regulation, corporate governance, civil litigation, etc. As a visiting scholar, Prof. Huang carried out research work at the University of Oxford, University of Tokyo and University of Chicago. Also, Prof. Huang is leading a national research project, under the sponsorship from China’s National Planning Office of Philosophy and Social Science.
Jackson, Michael
Title:
Anti-Corruption Law and Enforcement in Hong Kong
Abstract:
This paper will examine Hong Kong’s anti-corruption laws and their enforcement by the ICAC, Hong Kong’s dedicated anti-corruption investigative body. The key offences and investigative powers which have enabled the ICAC to successfully prosecute and prevent public and private sector corruption in Hong Kong, will be outlined and critically assessed. In addition, various lessons learned over the course of the ICAC’s forty years of operation will be reviewed, and some of the challenges confronting the ICAC as it enters its fifth decade of operations will be explored, including legitimacy issues and the investigation and prosecution of foreign corruption.
Biography:
Michael Jackson is a lecturer in the Faculty of Law, the University of Hong Kong, where his teaching includes Criminal Law and Privacy & Data Protection. He writes mainly in the field of criminal law and is the author of Criminal Law in Hong Kong and a contributing author to Archbold Hong Kong. He was a member of the Criminal Law and Procedure Committee of the Law Society of HK from 1996-2003, and has practised criminal litigation both in New Zealand and in Hong Kong.
Jin, Xiaoye
Title:
Regulating China’s Internet Money Market Fund: Legal Grey Area and International Experience
Abstract:
Ever since the launch of Yu’E Bao, there has been a vigorous debate among academics, policymakers, and banking industry surrounding the role of internet money market funds (IMMFs). Ordinary internet-originated investors believe that they have found a gold mine and a new path for prosperity. Banking industry holds a complicated attitude towards the expeditious development of various Baos and has been breeding and marketing their own Baos. Financial regulators appear to have been keeping a close eye on IMMFs and attempt to tradeoff between not to hinder financial innovations and safeguarding the interests of the financial system and ordinary investors. Although numerous research has been conducted to address some of the legal implications of the popular IMMFs, little has analyzed the leading proposals for the IMMFs from an economic perspective. Drawing lessons from the US and European authorities, we will try to address the issue of how to regulate China’s internet money market funds and discuss the viability of numerous proposals from an economic perspective. Our analysis sheds light on the fundamental tensions inherent in regulating internet money market funds.
Biography:
Xiaoye trained as an economist at the Shanghai Maritime University. He then joined the International Centre for Shipping, Trade and Finance at the Cass Business School, City University, London, as a student on its MSc programme. He received his PhD from City and is currently Lecturer of Finance at International School of Finance Law, East China University of Political Science and Law.
He lectures in Monetary Finance, Financial Markets, Financial Engineering, and Mathematical Economics. His research interests lie in the areas of credit risk modelling, energy derivatives and financial regulations. He has published in several academic journals in the area of finance and economics.
Leng, Jing
Title:
The Reform of IPO System in China: Toward a Registration System
Abstract:
One of the heatedly debated topics in the ongoing capital market reform in China is centered on how to introduce a merit-based disclosure system for selecting IPO (initial public offering) issuers. The new system has been highlighted by the central government in its policy agenda as a pressing goal of reform at the next stage of China’s transition to a market economy which would enable the market as the driving force in allocating resources, with other mechanisms, such as administrative governance, only playing a complementary role.
Aimed at igniting more market forces and removing excessive administrative intervention in firms’ fund-raising activity, the new system is branded as a “registration” system, as commonly termed in developed market economies such as the United States. It is considered a distinct contrast to previous IPO mechanisms which have emphasized, to various degrees, substantial administrative control and monitoring via vigorous screening of firms’ performance and competitiveness in the product market, generally measured by profitability as well as by potential value for investment.
The definitive feature of the upcoming registration system that the Chinese government hopes to establish in the next couple of years, around which majority views in various circles seem to have converged, is a substantial liberalization of capital market entry. The registration system would allow investors to decide which firms to put their money in after a formal review of the IPO application material by securities regulators surrounding the quality of information disclosure, as compared to previous practices oriented toward administrative control where regulators have determined which firms to allow in the market based on their performance and profitability, essentially stepping in the shoes of the investors in making judgments about firms’ investment value.
This paper explores the economic rationales, institutional design, application strategy and implementation approaches of the new registration system, as well as complementary reforms supporting its effective workings. In particular, the following issues would be under close examination: how previous IPO mechanisms have performed, with both their rationales and deficiencies, how the Securities Law should be revised to accommodate the adoption of the registration system, how to relocate and balance regulating powers between the stock exchanges and the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), how to reform the exchanges and the CSRC both organizationally and institutionally to enable the registration system to function as in other developed capital markets, and how to simultaneously also reform the sector of market intermediaries, particularly IPO sponsors, to provide necessary complementary institutional support to the new registration system.
Biography:
Professor of law; Distinguished Chair Professor of Shanghai Universities (Oriental Scholar); LLB and MPhil, Peking University; LLM, Kyushu University (Japan); SJD, University of Toronto. Prior to joining ECUPL, Professor Leng had been an assistant professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Hong Kong from 2007 to 2013. Her specialties are corporate, banking and securities law in mainland China and Hong Kong, as well as comparative corporate governance and law and development. Her representative work is Corporate Governance and Financial Reform in China’s Transition Economy (Hong Kong University Press, 2009, 328pp), which has received book reviews from Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Australia and Europe.
Professor Leng’s work has been published by leading law journals and academic publishing houses in both Chinese and English languages, including Virginia Law Review, European Business Law Review, Peking University Law Journal, Peking University Law Review, Routledge, Peking University Press, and China Legal Publishing House. Some of her publications are widely cited, such as her work on the role of formal contract law and enforcement in economic development, co-authored with world-renowned jurist in law and economics, Professor Michael Trebilcock of the University of Toronto. She has had a variety of academic and professional affiliations, including council member of China Securities Law Association, Secretary General of the Asian Law and Economics Association, fellow of the Asian Institute of International Financial Law, fellow and founding member of the Institute of Chinese Law at the University of Hong Kong, research advisor on cross-border listing for the Hong Kong Institute of Chartered Secretaries, and editor of Hong Kong Law Journal.
Thong, Chee Kun
Title:
Corruption in Singapore
Abstract:
Singapore has consistently maintained its reputation as one of the most uncorrupt countries in the world. In 2013, Singapore maintained its position of 5th out of 176 countries in the Corruption Perceptions Index scores, making it the most uncorrupt country in the whole of Asia. Singapore continues to enjoy such success through the unwavering efforts of the Corrupt Practices Investigations Bureau (“CPIB”), which is the primary institution responsible for combating corruption offences. Singapore’s zero-tolerance towards corruption can also be seen from the wide-ranging statutory laws, such as the Prevention of Corruption Act (“PCA”), the Penal Code and the Corruption Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act. The legislative intent to effectively snuff out corruption at all levels is highly prevalent in the PCA; where the ambit of corruption offences is especially broad and includes the soliciting, receiving, giving, promising or even offering a bribe.
This paper explores the active role played by the relevant authorities in their respective capacities in dealing with corruption in Singapore. The investigative tools available to the CPIB instil a sense of deterrence at every level. By examining the measures taken by the investigative authorities and prosecution in high-profile corruption cases in the public sector in recent years, this paper will also discuss the extent of the powers of enforcement powers open to the relevant authorities in Singapore.
Biography:
Mr Thong, Chee Kun has a comprehensive commercial litigation and criminal law practice. His area of expertise is commercial and regulatory crimes and offences. Beyond representing clients in court and other enforcement proceedings, he has also advised several companies and banks on disclosure, regulatory, anti-money laundering, anti-corruption and compliance matters. He has also acted for and advised clients in corporate litigation matters such as disputes among shareholders or directors.
He is also a contributor to the Halsbury’s Laws of Singapore, Criminal Law and has launched a book on Financial Crimes in Singapore.
Between 1999 and 2005, Mr Thong, Chee Kun was a Deputy Public Prosecutor and State Counsel with the Attorney-General’s Chambers. He was attached to the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) in 2003 and 2004 to advise CAD investigators on investigative, money-laundering and other prosecutorial matters. He led the prosecution of several complex, high-profile cases of commercial crime and securities fraud.
Since joining private practice in 2006, Mr Thong, Chee Kun has advised and defended clients in several significant cases including PP v Ho Leng Woon (case of disclosure-based offence committed by officers of AP Oil International Ltd), PP v Masatsugu Takahashi (case of falsification of accounts committed by an officer of Mitsui Oil (Asia) Pte Ltd, PP v Ong Seow Yong (case of disclosure-based offence committed by directors of Airocean Group Ltd), PP v Eric Tan Boon Yang (case of falsification of accounts in Jel Corporation (Holdings) Ltd) and PP v Ong Thiam Hock (case of corruption involving a decorated police officer).
Loke, Alexander F. H.
Title:
Positioning Singapore as an International Centre for Fund-raising
Abstract:
The Singapore fund-raising regime has changed dramatically in the last 20 years. The basic template inspired by the UK Companies Act 1948 has been radically overhauled to plug Singapore into the international capital markets, and to position Singapore as an international financial centre. There are a number of components which make up the sophisticated financial services industry in Singapore, of which fund-raising is an integral – and important – component. With a view to better understanding how Singapore developed to be the international financial services hub it is today, this paper examines how the fund-raising regime found today in Part XIII of the Securities and Futures Act has been progressively changed and fine-tuned in the bid to enhance Singapore as an attractive international centre for fund-raising. A prime example is the subdivision providing for carve-outs to the general prospectus requirement (Subdivision 4 to Part XIII). The paper argues that the process is demonstrative of the responsiveness of the lawmakers and the regulators to reconsidering the necessary protections offered by securities law to different types of investors, though there is room for enhancing the legal protection of investors buying products offered under the exemptions.
Biography:
Alexander F. H. Loke JSD, LLM (Columbia), LLB (Hons)(NUS) is Associate Professor with research interests in contract law, international corporate finance and securities regulation. He was a member of the Principles of Asian Contract Law project (December 2010-March 2012), and is co-editor (with Mindy Chen-Wishart and Burton Ong) of the book series Studies in the Contract Laws of Asia (Oxford University Press), which vol. 1 on comparative remedies for breach of contract is expected to be published in early 2015. Loke contributed the chapters on “Remedies” and “Discharge by Breach and Repudiation” in Halsbury’s Laws of Singapore vol 7: Contracts (2009, 2005 and 2000), as well as the chapters on “Directors’ Duties and Liabilities” and “Directors and Other Corporate Officers” in Walter Woon on Company Law, Rev 3rd Ed (2009) and 3rd Ed (2005). Representative publications include: “Tainting Illegality” Legal Studies (forthcoming), “Rethinking the transplantation of TSC Industries v Northway in Singapore” (2013) 28 Aus J Corp Law 253 “Rights, Duties and the Validation of Irregularities” (2011) 23Sing Ac LJ 838, "The Protected Interests in the Private Right of Action for Insider Trading: A Comparative Perspective" (2007) 7 J Corp L Stud 307, and “From the Fiduciary Theory to Information Abuse: The Changing Fabric of Insider Trading Law in the U.K., Australia and Singapore” 54 Am J Comp L 123 (2006).
Neo, Dora
Title:
Development of Banking and Financial Services in Singapore
Abstract:
Systematic development of the financial sector in Singapore began in the 1970s. The country’s finance industry now offers a broad range of services for domestic, regional and global clients and investors. The bedrock of Singapore’s financial centre is its well-established banking sector. This is complemented by its deep and liquid capital markets. In the past decade, there has been tremendous growth in asset and wealth management and private banking services. Its insurance industry is thriving. More recently, Singapore has become a gateway for RMB transactions, being a RMB clearing centre and participating in other forms of co-operation regarding financial sector development and regulation with China. Many financial institutions offering a wide range of services and products across different asset classes operate in Singapore. This paper will provide an overview of the development of the banking and financial services industry in Singapore; the role of the Singapore government, the Monetary Authority of Singapore and other industry stakeholders; and the intersection of common law, statute, rules and norms in governing the operation of and the relationships between the various players in the industry.
Biography:
Associate Professor Dora Neo is Director of the Centre for Banking & Finance Law at the Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore. She specialises in banking and finance law, the law of credit & security, and contract law. She is co-author of Ellinger & Neo, The Law and Practice of Documentary Letters of Credit (Hart Publishing, Oxford, 2010). Her research interests include international economic law, particularly trade in services and free trade agreements. She completed her law degree with first class honours from Oxford University before pursuing postgraduate studies at Harvard Law School. She has been called to the English Bar (Gray's Inn) and is an Advocate and Solicitor in Singapore. She holds a Certificate in Private Banking from the Wealth Management Institute, Singapore, and a Certificate in Real Estate Finance from the Department of Real Estate, NUS. She is a member of the Injunction Proposals Review Panel under the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act, and of the Accreditation Committee of the Singapore Institute of Legal Education (SILE).
Shen, Wei
Title:
P2P Lending in China: Popularity, Risks and Regulation
Abstract:
P2P lending in China is still free from regulatory oversight. A consequence is that P2P platforms lack sufficient supervision and information disclosures and involve high-risk loan business with sometimes fraudulent activities. This article considers China’s growing P2P platforms and the dangers if this new form of lending is left unregulated. Regulators need to take a coordinated approach.
Biography:
KoGuan Chair Professor of Law and Special Oriental Scholar Professor of Law, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Law School, PhD Supervisor and Examiner; PhD (London School of Economics and Political Science), LLM (University of Cambridge), LLM (University of Michigan), LLM & LLB (East China University of Political Science and Law); Attorney-at-Law, New York. He is the Chair of the law school’s International Exchange Committee.
Professor Shen is an arbitrator with Shanghai Arbitration Commission, Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre, and China International Economic and Trade Commission. He is a Global Law Faculty Professor at NYU Law. He is an Honorary Fellow of Asian Institute of International Financial Law, University of Hong Kong. He has been a Guest Professor at Copenhagen Business School (Fall 2012), a Senior Research Fellow at Max-Planck Institute of International and Comparative Law (Hamburg) (Summer 2013) and a Senior Research Scholar at Yale Law School (2013-2014).
Professor Shen is now teaching international investment law, company law, international economic law and contract law in the law school. His current research interests include international investment law, corporate governance, financial regulations, and international commercial arbitration.
Professor Shen is the author of the books: Rethinking the New York Convention – A Law and Economics Approach (Cambridge: Intersentia 2013) and The Anatomy of China’s Banking Sector and Regulation (Wolters Kluwer 2014). Professor Shen has already contributed to 23 books (21 in English and 2 in Chinese) and authored (or co-authored) over 90 articles in English and Chinese law journals.
Wang, Jianyu
Title:
Liberalization for an International Financial Centre: Singapore’s Experiences for Shanghai
Abstract:
Shanghai has determined, backed by the political will of China’s central government, to become an international financial centre. It however does not have a clear blueprint on how to achieve this ambitious goal, apart from the several sets of rules and regulations issued by the Shanghai Municipal Government which aim to make a difference vis-à-vis other regions of China in terms of financial liberalization. From the perspective of establishing an international financial centre through organized liberalization, Singapore provides a good example for Shanghai. This paper looks at how Singapore was developed into an international financial centre. In particular, it examines (1) how Singapore has conducted financial liberalization according to its commitments under international agreements such as the GATT/WTO, FTAs and BITs and (2) the policies and measures adopted by the Singapore government to control the pace of liberalization for various purposes. It also discusses the implications of Singapore’s experiences, both in liberalizing the financial sector and in controlling the pace and size of liberalization, for Shanghai.
Biography:
Dr. Wang Jiangyu (SJD & LLM, University of Pennsylvania; MJur, Oxford; MPhil in Laws, Peking University; LLB, China University of Political Science and Law) is the Deputy Director of the Centre for Asian Legal Studies (CALS) and a tenured Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law of the National University of Singapore. He is also the co-Chief-Editor (with Andrew Harding) of the Asian Journal of Comparative Law and Deputy Chief Editor of the Chinese Journal of Comparative Law. He was on secondment as an Associate Professor and Director for the MPhil/PhD Programme at the Faculty of Law of The Chinese University of Hong Kong from August 2006 to July 2009. His teaching and research interests include international economic law, Chinese corporate and securities law, law and development, and Chinese legal system. He practiced law in the Legal Department of Bank of China and Chinese and American law firms. He served as a member of the Chinese delegation at the annual conference of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law Conference in 1999. He is a member of the Chinese Bar Association and the New York Bar Association. He is also a director on the Executive Board of the WTO Institute of the China Law Society, a Senior Fellow at the Law and Development Institute (LDI), and a fellow of the Asian Institute of International Financial Law (Hong Kong). He has also been invited expert/speaker for the WTO, International Trade Centre (UNCTAD/WTO) and United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP). He recently received the 2007 Young Researcher Award of The Chinese University of Hong Kong in recognition of his accomplishment in research from 2007-2008. Dr. Wang has published extensively in Chinese and international journals and newspapers on a variety of law and politics related topics. He is a regular contributor to leading newspapers and magazines in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Mainland China. He served as an external reviewer for dozens of international journals and publishers and research funds.
Xiao, Kai
Title:
The Regulatory Function of Financial Prosecution: Experiences in Shanghai
Abstract:
In 2009 when China announced her ambitious plan to build Shanghai as an international financial center, many observers, home and abroad, were quick to point out that unsophisticated financial laws, inexperienced financial regulators, and inadequate financial disputes resolution mechanism would damp the prospect of success. Partly as a vigorous effort to enhance the legal environment of Shanghai, specialized financial investigation team, financial prosecution department and financial tribunal have been established in the past five years. Among this rapid development of legal professionalism, prosecutors center the stage in the sense that the fine line of financial crime is virtually determined. In addition to prosecuting various financial crimes, the newly-established Financial Prosecution Division of the Shanghai People’s Procuratorate, first of its kind in China, has experimented new ways to protect financial consumers’ interests, ensure compliance programs, and establish the order of financial market.
This paper argues that financial prosecution practices in Shanghai have performed a regulatory function as a de facto regulator. The first part briefly introduces the unique constitutional status of People’s Procuratorate in China, especially how Chinese procuratorial power is different from those of other countries. The second part explains reasons why the regulatory function played by the prosecutor is a necessary supplement to the current financial regulation regime in China. The third part analyzes three practices adopted by the Financial Prosecution Division, namely, cross-agency enforcement policy-making, guiding cases publication, and compliance advice and monitor. The paper concludes that financial prosecution in Shanghai is a structural change that actually enhance the effectiveness of financial regulation.
Biography:
Professor Kai Xiao is the Director of the Financial Crimes Division, Shanghai People’s Procuratorate and a Legal Practice Professor of Shanghai Jiao Tong University KoGuan Law School. As the head of financial crimes division, which is the first of its kind in China, Xiao Kai is in charge of prosecuting various serious financial frauds, from credit card fraud to insider trading in Shanghai, the financial center of the nation. Prior to joining the Shanghai People’s Procuratorate, XIAO Kai was the deputy chief prosecutor of Shanghai PuDong New District People’s Procuratorate from 2009 to 2011. Before that, he was a full professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University KoGuan Law School. Xiao Kai has been a visiting scholar or visiting professor at several law schools in the United States, including the New York University School of Law in 2008 and the College of Law, University of Tennessee, in 2005. He obtained his Ph.D. and LLM from Wuhan University; Certificate for Chinese and American Studies from the Johns Hopkins- Nanjing Center; and B.A. from Central China Normal University. He is the deputy editor-in-chief of Chinese Yearbook of Financial Prosecution (2012), author of the book Transnational Securities Transactions in Private International Law (2008) and published a number of journal articles. He is an expert in financial crimes, private international law, and financial law.
Young, Simon N. M.
Title:
Hong Kong’s Criminal Law Framework for Financial Centre Development
Abstract:
An effective criminal law framework for financial centre development consists of at least six components. First the net of criminal offences must be strong and wide. Second the potential penalties must be severe enough and tailored to deter and prevent future crimes. Third there must be responsive and efficient enforcement of the criminal law, uninhibited by corruption. Fourth the adjudicative processes must be public and capable of bringing about final outcomes in a timely manner. Fifth the framework must be able to respond adequately to cross-border and transnational criminal activity. Sixth there must be a free press and free flow of information so the public can know whether the framework is working and have confidence in it.
For the most part, Hong Kong’s framework has done well on all six components. In recent times, its adjudicative processes have been weakened by a shortage of judges and lack of technological innovation in judicial services. More could also be done in enhancing the penalties and transnational components. On balance, however, the framework seems to work well with its heavily utilized money laundering and fraud-related offences and serious approach to enforcement.
Biography:
Professor Simon N. M. Young is Associate Dean (Research) in the Faculty of Law, The University of Hong Kong and a practicing Hong Kong barrister. He was Director of the Faculty’s Centre for Comparative and Public Law from 2007 to 2013 and before moving to Hong Kong was counsel in the Crown Law Office-Criminal, Ministry of the Attorney General for Ontario, Canada. His books includeHong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal (Cambridge University Press 2014) (co-edited with Y Ghai) and Civil Forfeiture of Criminal Property (Edward Elgar 2009). In 2014, he appeared as junior counsel to the Director of Public Prosecutions in two criminal appeals concerning money laundering before the Court of Final Appeal. He has been a member of Disciplinary Panel A of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants since 2011.
Zhang, Shaoqian
Title:
Trends and Countermeasures to Money Laundering in China (Shanghai) Free Trade Zone
Abstract:
According to the General Scheme of China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone issued by the State Council, the Shanghai free trade zone (FTZ) has implemented a series of measures aimed at promoting trade and investment, expanding financial opening, facilitating cross-border Yuan use and so forth. These measures have created a more relaxed, convenient operating environment for enterprises, but also have created more convenient conditions for money laundering, thus increasing the risk of money laundering in the FTZ. The characteristics of those activities are: 1. A rapid increase in the use of financial institutions to conduct money laundering leading to financial institutions becoming the main channel for money laundering. 2. The situation of using FTZ’s accounts to transfer criminal proceeds to overseas will be more prominent than other regions. 3. Foreigners will become more involved in the transfer of investment capital and trade activities in the FTZ, increasing the risk of foreign involvement in money laundering. The FTZ will be the worse-hit area of money laundering crime without timely and effective measures. In response to this apparent risk, according to the characteristics of the FTZ, the Chinese government and financial management divisions have already issued a series of specific anti-money laundering regulations, in accordance with relevant domestic anti-money laundering laws and statutes. To truly implement these provisions and establish a sound risk-based anti-money laundering system in the FTZ, there is a lot of work to do, focusing on the following aspects: 1. Improving the responsibility and initiative of anti-money laundering personnel in FTZ financial institutions. The institutions should draw up and implement appropriate incentive and strict punitive measures to strengthen investigations. 2. Improving the ability of financial institutions to fulfill their anti-money laundering obligations, particularly to improve the capabilities of financial personnel in identifying customer risk and suspicious transactions, as well as the capability of making accurate reports. In this regard, anti-money laundering authorities should provide the necessary help and provide specific guidance. 3. Establishing an anti-money laundering supervision data system and coordination platform to ensure information sharing and smooth communication between different levels of anti-money laundering regulatory agencies, between the regulatory agencies and financial institutions as well as relevant departments, between the regulatory agencies and other relevant state departments, thereby facilitating a cooperative effort. 4. Strengthening the sense of responsibility of supervision agencies and money laundering investigation agencies to perform their duties connected to investigating the crime of money laundering, as well as strengthening accountability for their dereliction of responsibility, in order to improve their levels of investigating money laundering. 5. Attaching importance to daily cooperation with foreign and international anti-money laundering agencies in order to prevent and investigate cross-border money laundering timely and effectively.
Biography:
Shaoqian Zhang (BA, MA (East China University of Political Science and Law), PhD (Wuhan University) is Professor of Criminal Law and Director of the Research Center of Financial inspection of the Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China. He is Member of the Council of the Chinese Criminal Law Research Association, Executive Member of the Council of the Chinese Society of Criminology. Author of more than 10 books and has published about one hundred articles. He has researched various funding projects of the National Social Science Fund and the provincial funds, including “Reform of Chinese penalty system”, “Conviction and punishment for the Crimes of dereliction of duty convicted in the accidents causing serious consequences”. He has taught in at Zhengzhou University (1986-2012), and worked as the Dean of the School of Law of that University (1994-2012). Professor Zhang’s research areas include criminal law and criminology.
Zhang, Xianchu
Title:
Market Access and a Level Playing Field in China as a Socialist Market Economy
Abstract:
Market access has been a challenging issue facing China both internally and externally. In recent years the party-State started a new round of reform with a promise to let market force to play its decisive role. As a result, some new measures, such as the Shanghai Free Trade Zone and new policy to encourage private investment, have been introduced. However, to what extent the new reform measures will be fully implemented is still subject to a great deal of uncertainties.
Against this background the article analyses these uncertainties and their institutional implications in five parts. Part one sets out the background of the new round of reform in China; Part two highlights the current legal framework governing market access and competition; Part three reviews some landmark cases in the WTO and in the domestic courts concerning foreign investors and domestic entrepreneurs to illustrate the struggling process of market opening in China; Part four discusses the institutional implications of the new reform measures in the context of China’s political environment and global competition; and finally, Part five draws some concluding remarks.
The article argues that given the political and the rule of law conditions in China today the new round of reform may not be successfully implemented unless some political reform that has been long delayed can be carried out to provide the market development with necessary institutional support.
Biography:
Professor of Law, associate dean of the faculty of law, the University of Hong Kong; Co-director of the HKU-Peking University Legal Research Centre; arbitrator of China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC) and Shanghai International Arbitration Center; member of Professional Committee on Foreign Related Trials under the China Law Society （中國法學會審判理論研究會涉外審判專業委員會)；director of Hong Kong Legal Trust Fund. Main teaching and research interests include Chinese commercial law, comparative law, international economic law and cross-border legal relations between mainland China and Hong Kong.
