Asia Financial Regulatory Bulletin - September 2026

Last month, regulators in Hong Kong and Singapore advanced their agendas across fintech, banking supervision, and enforcement. In Hong Kong, the city’s four financial regulators announced the first cohort of the cross-sector GenAI Sandbox++, the SFC highlighted risks arising from the increasing use of electronic direct debit authorisations, and Anchorpoint Financial commenced the first-phase roll-out of Hong Kong’s first regulated stablecoin, HKDAP. In Singapore, MAS published an information paper on culture capabilities for effective remediation, announced measures to strengthen Singapore’s competitiveness as a leading asset management hub, and committed S$220 million to support the next phase of fintech innovation.

This monthly bulletin provides a snapshot of the most important regulatory changes 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:

• Hong Kong’s first regulated stablecoin, HKDAP, commenced its first-phase professionals-only roll-out. HKDAP is a Hong Kong dollar-backed stablecoin issued by Anchorpoint Financial, a joint venture established by Standard Chartered Bank, HKT and Animoca Brands.

• The SFC hosted an industry webinar as part of preparations for the implementation of the OTC derivatives licensing regime. We understand that implementation is expected in the second half of 2027.

Singapore:

• MAS published an information paper on culture capabilities for effective remediation and sustainable change, sharing supervisory observations on four cultural capabilities associated with more effective remediation and a lower likelihood of recurrence of serious risk events.

• MAS announced measures to strengthen Singapore’s competitiveness as a leading asset management hub, including a tax exemption for profit-related returns from fund management services, a new Hedge Fund Investment Programme, and a new Investment Management Track under the ONE Pass framework to attract top global investment professionals.