Asia Financial Regulatory update - June 2026

In May 2026, regulators in Hong Kong and Singapore continued to advance their respective regulatory agendas, with Hong Kong publishing a wave of coordinated guidance on virtual assets and stablecoins following the grant of its first stablecoin issuer licences, and Singapore focusing on fund management supervision, banking resilience and financial crime. This monthly bulletin provides a snapshot of the most significant regulatory developments in Singapore and Hong Kong. To receive a more detailed list of regulatory developments, please sign up to our monthly newsletter below.

Key developments:

Hong Kong SAR:

• Following the grant of Hong Kong’s first stablecoin issuer licences, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) issued coordinated guidance on stablecoin activities for licensed corporations and registered institutions, alongside updates to rules on virtual asset financing and custody.

• The SFC published final consultation conclusions confirming a new licensing regime for virtual asset advisers and managers, aligned with Type 4 and Type 9 regulated activities under the Securities and Futures Ordinance (SFO).

Singapore:

• The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) published information papers on risk management and valuation practices for fund management companies, updated liquidity and large exposures notices for banks and merchant banks, and guidance on risk-proportionate source of wealth practices.

• MAS published a consultation paper proposing a Total Loss-Absorbing Capacity (TLAC) framework for domestic systemically important banks (D-SIBs), setting external TLAC at 14% of risk-weighted assets for local D-SIBs.

• Parliament passed the Securities and Futures (Amendment) Bill 2026 to facilitate the Global Listing Board, a dual-listing platform for SGX and Nasdaq, introducing a new regulatory framework for dual-listing boards and updating prospectus-related obligations.