Landmark decision expands insider dealing regime

摘要

The Court of First Instance has recently handed down a landmark decision in the case of The Securities and Futures Commission v Young Bik Fung and Others (HCMP No 2575 of 2010) on 15 January 2016. Under the Hong Kong market misconduct regime, insider dealing is typically enforced under Sections 270 or 291 of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (SFO). However, these provisions are expressly subject to a territorial limitation, in that these provisions can only be used to prosecute insider dealing in relation to securities listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The Young Bik Fung case is of significance because it is the first case in which a Hong Kong court has accepted the use of Section 300 of the SFO (which prohibits the use of fraudulent or deceptive devices in a transaction involving securities) in relation to insider dealing in securities listed overseas.