Hong Kong

SFO affects substantial shareholder disclosure requirements

Jeremy Walter and Tansy Tang. Clifford Chance, Hong Kong

The Securities and Futures Ordinance (SFO) was enacted in March 2002 and came into force on 1 April 2003. The SFO is a major piece of legislation, consolidating and superseding ten primary pieces of previous legislation relating to the securities and futures industry. Many regulatory changes were introduced by the SFO and potentially affect derivatives players. However, arguably the area which may cause greatest change relates to the new disclosure of interests requirements.