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The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Frederick Ma, announced today (April 1) that the Chief Executive has appointed the Honourable Mr Justice Lugar-Mawson, Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court, as the chairman of the Market Misconduct Tribunal (MMT); and the Honourable Mr Justice Stone, Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court, as the chairman of the Securities and Futures Appeals Tribunal (SFAT). Both appointments are for a three-year term with effect from April 1, 2003.

The Chief Executive has also appointed the following 22 persons as members of the SFAT for a two-year term with effect from April 1, 2003:

Dr Au, King Lun

Mr Best, Roger Thomas, J.P.

Mr Brookhouse, Simon

Prof Chan, Ka Keung

Mr Fong, Hup

Ms Fung, Shirley

Mr Graham, David

Mr Hui, Chiu Chung Stephen

Ms Ko, Yuk Yin Teresa

Dr Kwok, Chi Piu Bill

Mr Kwok, Hing Wai Kenneth, S.C.

Mr Kwok, King Man Clement

Mr Lee, Kwan Ho Vincent Marshall

Mrs Lee Wong, Pui Ling Angelina, J.P.

Mr Luk, Koon Hoo Roger, J.P.

Mr Sun, Tak Kei David

Mr Tang, Kwai Nang, J.P.

Mr Tse, Kam Keung

Mr Tsien, Samuel Nag

Dr Tsui, Fuk Sun Michael

Mr Ward, Rodney Gordon

Mr Wong, Wai Sum Wilfred

The MMT and the SFAT are established under the Securities and Futures Ordinance (SFO) which comes into effect today.

The MMT replaces the Insider Dealing Tribunal (IDT) and deals with, in addition to insider dealing, false trading, price rigging, disclosure of information about prohibited transactions, disclosure of false or misleading information inducing transactions and stock market manipulation.

"Building on the strength of the IDT, the MMT conducts civil proceedings to hear a wider range of market misconduct and imposes civil sanctions against the wrongdoers. It helps promote market confidence by protecting the interest of the investing public and reducing market malpractice," Mr Ma said.

The SFAT upgrades the Securities and Futures Appeals Panel (SFAP) to a statutory tribunal with a jurisdiction to review a much wider range of decisions made under the SFO by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Investor Compensation Company recognized by the SFC.

"The SFAT, chaired by a full-time judge and with a wider jurisdiction, will be an effective safeguard to ensure that the relevant regulatory decisions are reasonable and fair," Mr Ma said.

"The appointment of Mr Justice Lugar-Mawson and Mr Justice Stone to head the MMT and the SFAT respectively would contribute to the effective operation of the two tribunals. I would also like to thank the members for agreeing to provide their valuable service," said Mr Ma, adding that the two setups are among the various initiatives under the SFO to increase the effectiveness in combating market misconduct and enhance the accountability of the SFC.

During the transition, both the IDT and the SFAP will continue to operate until they complete the cases originated prior to the commencement of the SFO.

End/Tuesday, April 1, 2003

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