In July 2021, 8 law students joined and completed a two-week summer internship programme at Stevenson, Wong & Co..

The programme is designed for law students to have a glimpse of working at a full-service law firm and gain an insight into their future career path. During our programme, the interns attended various practice areas talks and performed legal tasks. On their last day, we were impressed by the vibrant and lively individual and group presentations given by our interns.

Front row from the left: Associate Ms. Karlie Cheung, Partner Mr. Rodney Teoh, Partner Ms. Lai Lam, Partner Ms. Milly Hung, Intern Ms. Bertha Wu, Intern Ms. Liz Tang, Intern Ms. Jacqueline Poon, Intern Mr. Griffin Tung

Second row from the left, Intern Mr. Winson Chu, Intern Mr. Kayson Hui, Intern Mr. Tim Cheung, Trainee Mr. Calvin Lo, Intern Mr. Leo Choi

We wish our interns great success in their future endeavours!

For more information about our internship programme, please contact Ms. Lai Lam, Mr. Rodney Teoh, or Ms. Milly Hung.

We are delighted to announce that IP STARS has once again ranked our Partner Lai Lam as a Trade Mark Star for Hong Kong in recognition of her outstanding legal advice and client service.

Each year, IP STARS research teams from Hong Kong, London, and New York conduct 6-month independent research on thousands of firms globally. They assess the IP practitioners and firms’ expertise, workload, market reputation, track record, outcomes achieved for clients, and their unique strengths in each practice area. For a practitioner to be ranked by IP STARS, one must be highly regarded by their peers and clients that are integral to their firm’s success or reputation.

Lai was admitted to practise as a solicitor in Hong Kong in 1989, in England and Wales in 1993 and in Singapore in 1995. Lai joined the firm in 2002.

Lai’s practice covers all areas of intellectual property. She frequently advises on the selection and suitability of trade marks for use and registration; opposition and rectification proceedings; the drafting and registration of trade mark licences; and user agreements and the assignment of trade mark rights.

Lai has handled large trade mark portfolios for clients regionally and internationally, in both the private and public sectors and in various fields, including acting for leading international companies operating in fashion and luxury goods.

In addition, Lai is a member of the Asian Patent Attorneys Association and a former Board Member of Interlaw and Vice Chair for the Asia Pacific Region. She is currently the Vice Chair for the Interlaw Diversity, Inclusion and Community Special Business Team for Asia Pacific. She has also been appointed as a Civil Celebrant of Marriages.

About IP STARS

IP STARS is a leading resource for companies or individuals looking for experienced legal practitioners for contentious and non-contentious IP advice since 1990. Their research, rankings, and analysis provide independent and impartial accreditation across 151 jurisdictions, covering 1,645 firms and 7,100 practitioners.

For more information, please contact Ms. Lai Lam or visit here for the ranking.

On 16 July 2021, our Partner Mr. Gordon Tsang and Paralegal Mr. Arthur Hung were invited to give a presentation on IPOS in Hong Kong and the United States to the Directors of the Bank of Julius Baer.

From the right: Bank of Julius Baer’s Managing Director – Senior Advisor Mr. Kevin Kwan, our Partner Mr. Gordon Tsang and our Paralegal Mr. Arthur Hung

Gordon gave a comprehensive introduction on Hong Kong’s IPO listing rules and practices to the Directors including the latest updates to the listing requirements and accountability of professionals, the reorganisation of Red-Chips listing, H-shares listing, trust arrangements, and latest development on VIE structures. Gordon also compared the pros and cons of listing in Hong Kong and the United States.

Please contact Mr. Gordon Tsang for any enquiries or further information.

Background

Following the public consultation conducted by the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (“FSTB”) from November 2020 to January 2021 outlining the legislative proposals to enhance anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (“AML/CTF”) regulation in Hong Kong, FSTB published the Consultation Conclusions on 21 May 2021 (the “Consultation Conclusions”). The Consultation Conclusions proposed a licensing regime for virtual asset services providers (“VASPs”), a two-tier registration regime for dealers in precious metals and stones (“DPMS”) and other technical amendments under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing (Cap.615)(“AMLO”). This newsletter focuses primarily on VASPs.

The Need for Regulation of VASPs

Trading of virtual assets (“VAs”), such as cryptocurrencies, has become the trend in recent years. It is generally recognised that VAs pose inherent Money Laundering / Terrorist Financing (“ML/TF”) risks to the financial system. While VAs is not legal tender in Hong Kong, they are frequently traded locally. FSTB wished to safeguard against ML/TF by introducing a licensing regime under the AMLO for VASPs.

Scope and Coverage

FSTB proposed to designate the business of operating a VA exchange as a “regulated VA activity” under the AMLO and require any person seeking to operate a VA exchange in Hong Kong to apply for a licence from the Securities and Futures Commission (“SFC”) as a licensed VASP under the AMLO.

VA exchange is defined as “any trading platform which is operated for the purpose of allowing an offer or invitation to be made to buy or sell any VA in exchange for any money or any VA, and which comes into custody, control, power or possession of, or over, any money or any VA at any point in time during its course of business.”

Regarding the definition of VA, it appears that FSTB prefers more flexibility by reserving powers to alter the definition of VA to cope with the fast-developing VA industry.

However, it is worth noting that peer-to-peer (“P2P”) trading platforms, which allow the posting of bids and offers between sellers and buyers, would not be regarded as a VA exchange, to the extent that the actual deal is transacted outside the platform and the platform is not possessing of any money or any VA by any means at any point in time. Furthermore, the Consultation Conclusions also appeared to have excluded the over-the-counter trades from the proposed new VASP licencing regime at this stage.

Licensing Requirements

FSTB has set out the licensing requirements for potential VASPs whereby the applicants shall be eligible and satisfy the “Fit-and-Proper Test” before being granted a license.

A wide range of factors will be taken into account for the SFC to determine the integrity of the applicant as set out below:

(i)    Whether the applicant has been convicted of ML/TF offences.
(ii)   Whether the applicant has been convicted of other fraudulent, corruption or dishonest offences.
(iii)  Whether the applicant has failed to observe AML/CTF or other regulatory requirements.
(iv)  Experience and qualifications of the applicant.
(v)   Good standing and financial integrity of the applicant.
(vi)  Appointment of at least two responsible officers to ensure compliance with AML/CTF requirements and other regulatory requirements.

Regulatory Requirements and Powers of the SFC

Apart from the AML/CTF requirements, FSTB would require licensed VASPs to provide services to professional investors only.

The SFC is empowered to supervise the AML/CTF conduct of VASPs and enforce any regulatory requirements to ensure full compliance. The SFC also enjoys a variety of powers for enforcement, in particular, the power to enter the VASPs’ business premises for routine inspections.

Transitional Arrangements

A 180-day transitional period upon commencement of operation of the licensing regime is proposed to facilitate applications by interested parties.

Please contact our Partner Mr. Rodney Teoh for any enquiries or further information.

This newsletter is for information purposes only. Its content does not constitute legal advice and should not be treated as such. Stevenson, Wong & Co. will not be liable to you in respect of any special, indirect or consequential loss or damage arising from or in connection with any decision made, action or inaction taken in reliance on the information set out herein.

IFLR1000 has released the second batch of the 31st Asia-Pacific Financial and Corporate rankings. Stevenson, Wong & Co. is pleased to announce that we have been recognized in the following practice areas:

• Capital Markets: Equity
• Retail Funds
• Financial Services Regulatory

IFLR1000 evaluates law firms and lawyers by practice area based on transactional evidence and client feedbacks. Firms are recognized for advising on some of the most complex or innovative transactions in their markets and receiving excellent feedback for their work.

About IFLR1000

The IFLR1000 is an international legal market’s guide focusing on financial and corporate law firms. Since 1990, IFLR1000 has published over 750 practice area rankings across 235 jurisdictions globally.

Please contact our Partners Mr. Hank Lo, Ms. Cornelia Chu, Mr. Rodney Teoh, Mr. Osbert Hui, Ms. Erica Cheng, or Mr. Dominic Lau for any enquiries or further information.

Please click here to see the full rankings.

Our Partner Gordon Tsang has been awarded the Gold Award in the Professional Volunteer service Accreditation Programme (PVSA) 2019-2020 for his continuous contributions to volunteer services. Jointly organised by the Hong Kong Council of Volunteering, the Agency for Volunteer Service, and the Law Society of Hong Kong, PVSA aims to promote and commend professionals and senior executives for contributing their professional knowledge and skills in serving the community.

For any enquiries, please contact our Partner Mr. Gordon Tsang.