26 June 2003

Dear Sir / Madam,

Amendments to the Return of Securities Related Activities

I am writing to inform you that the Return of Securities Related Activities (MA(BS)14) and the related completion instructions have been amended. This is mainly to reflect the relevant changes introduced to the securities regulatory framework under the Securities and Futures Ordinance (SFO) and the Banking (Amendment) Ordinance 2002, which came into operation on 1 April 2003. The revised Return is to be submitted by all authorized institutions (AIs) that are registered institutions, including those institutions that are deemed to be registered with the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) under transitional arrangements.

The revised Return has been issued for consultation with the two industry Associations. Part I of the revised Return mainly captures information on regulated activities as defined in the SFO. Part II of the revised Return collects information particularly on transactions relating to equity-linked instruments, collective investment schemes, as well as the underwriting and placement of securities. For the sake of consistency, AIs will no longer be required to report on the status of compliance with the continuous professional training requirement as the SFC does not require such reporting by licensed persons in its revised Annual Return.

The first reporting period for the revised Return will be the 6 months ending 31 December 2003. All exempt dealers as at 31 March 2003 (i.e. immediately before the commencement of the new regime) should continue to submit the Return in its existing version for the 6 months ending 30 June 2003.

We are working on incorporating the revised Return into the template of the STET (Submission Through Electronic Transmission) system, which will be available later this year. The English versions of the revised Return and the completion instructions can be accessed through the HKMA's public (http://www.info.gov.hk/hkma) and private (http://www.hkfin.net) websites. You will be informed when the Chinese versions are available.

A copy of the revised Return and the completion instructions are attached. Should you have any questions relating to this letter, please feel free to contact Mr Samuel Leung at 2878-1541 or Miss Alice Lee at 2878-1603.

Yours faithfully,

Raymond Li
Executive Director (Banking Development)