On 17 June 2021, the Securities and Futures Commission (the SFC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand (the SEC) announced that the Hong Kong-Thailand Mutual Recognition of Funds scheme (the MRF) had come into force. The scheme is governed by the Memorandum of Understanding concerning Mutual Recognition of Covered Funds and Covered Management Companies and related Cooperation entered into by the two regulators on 20 January 2021.1 The scheme provides for Hong Kong and Thai funds authorised or approved for retail distribution in their home market to be authorised or approved for retail distribution in each other’s markets under the streamlined procedures set out in the SEC Circular2 and SFC Circular3, respectively.
The MRF with Thailand is the latest addition to the suite of MRF schemes already in place between Hong Kong and other markets. The full list of the SFC’s mutual recognition of funds arrangements is available at: https://www.sfc.hk/en/Regulatory-functions/Products/List-of-publicly-offered-investment-products/Mutual-recognition-of-funds-arrangements.
For the purposes of this newsletter, “Thai Covered Funds” refer to Thai domiciled funds that are eligible for SFC authorisation and/or have received SFC authorisation under the Hong Kong-Thailand Mutual Recognition of Funds scheme. “Hong Kong Covered Funds” refer to Hong Kong domiciled funds that are eligible for SEC approval and/or have received SEC approval under the Mutual Recognition of Funds scheme.
