To enhance the market surveillance capabilities and maintain market integrity, the Securities and Futures Commission (「SFC」) has introduced the Investor Identification Regime (「HKIDR」) at trading level for the securities market in Hong Kong and an Over-The-Counter Securities Transactions Reporting Regime (「OTCR」) for shares listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (「HKEx」).
It is recommend to access below links of the videos(i.e. 「Unlocking Investor ID」) (highlight video) for the details of the regimes below
Please be advised that the HKIDR will be launched on 20 March 2023, and the OTCR will be launched on 25 September 2023.
Click here to provide the express consent.
The HKIDR and OTCR affects all securities (including derivatives) listed or traded on the trading system of HKEx.However, it does not cover derivatives traded on the trading system of the Hong Kong Futures Exchange and unlisted structured products (e.g. equity-linked instruments, equity-linked notes) and delivery of SEHK-listed securities pursuant to these products.
For OTCR:
(i)transfer of shares made in connection with an OTC securities transaction in respect of which stamp duty is chargeable in Hong Kong
(ii)deposit or withdrawals of physical share certificates
The HKIDR is a real name measure used for trading securities on the trading system of the HKEx. Futu is required to assign a Broker-to-Client Assigned Number (「BCAN」)[1]to each of clients and tag BCAN to the clients’ securities orders, and disclose the relevant information to HKEx when submission of securities orders. This will allow the relevant regulators to quickly obtain the information about investors who place the securities orders and enhance their market surveillance function.
Under the OTCR, Futu has to:
①report the Client Identification Data (「CID」) of clients, including the transferee and/or transferor of shares, to the SFC when the broker, whether as principal or agent for clients, makes the relevant transfer of shares made in connection with an OTC securities transaction in respect of which stamp duty is chargeable in Hong Kong; or
② report the CID of clients to the SFC when the broker, whether as principal or agent for clients, handles deposit or withdrawal of physical share certificates.
Client identification data ("CID") of individual clients refer to client identity information, including name in English and/or Chinese as shown on the Identity Document(s)("ID"), ID issuing counry/jurisdiction(s), ID type(s) and ID number(s).
CID of institutional or corporate clients includes the name of the legal entity, place of registration, type and number of registration documents.
Futu will disclose and transfer the client data* according to the order of priority as set out below (i.e. where the client does not hold such document first mentioned in the list below, client should provide the next mentioned document and so on) as CID to relevant regulators (including but not limited to SEHK and/or SFC):
(i) In the case of a natural person, his or her (1) HKID card; or (2) national identification document; or (3) passport;
(ii) In the case of a corporation, its (1) legal entity identifier (LEI) registration document; or (2) certificate of incorporation; or (3) certificate of business registration; or (4) other equivalent identity document; and
(iii) In the case of a trust, the trustee information as in (i) or (ii) above, as the case may be. However, if the trust is an investment fund (i.e. collective investment schemes), the CID of the asset management company or the individual fund, as appropriate, which has opened a trading account with our Company should be provided.
* Should there be any change in your client data, please notify our Company in writing immediately and provide the latest client data (e.g. if you have LEI and your LEI has lapsed and/or has been renewed, you should submit your updated LEI information to the Futu immediately).
^ LEI refers to the Legal Entity Identifier which is a 20-character alpha-numeric code under the Global LEI System adopted by the Financial Stability Board to uniquely identify distinct legal entities which participate in financial transactions.
If you trade securities in the Hong Kong stock market, you should be aware of the new requirements of HKIDR and OTCR.
Under the HKIDR, Futu is required to submit their clients’ identity document information together with the relevant BCAN to a secured data repository of the HKEx and the SFC.
Futu has to comply with the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance, so Futu has to obtain prior consent from its individual clients before submitting the clients’ identity document information to the secured data repository. Without providing this consent to Futu, you will still be able to sell and withdraw your securities holdings but will not be able to purchase or deposit securities.
For individual clients, if you have already provided your identity document information to Futu at the time your account was opened, which fulfilled the requirement of the order of priority on the type of identity document as specified in Item 4 above, you just need to provide your consent for the collection and transfer of your identity documents information.
However, If the information you have submitted does not meet the requirement of the order of priority as specified, e.g. Holding a Hong Kong identity card/national identification but have opened an account using another identity document (e.g. passport), please contact us and update your Hong Kong identity card information.
For corporate client, please refer to the requirement of the order of priority on the type of identity document as specified in Item 4 above, please contact us and update your client information if necessary.
Failure to provide the express consent or failure to updated CID (e.g. CID is not provided/updated in accordance with the waterfall requirements in question 4) may mean that, subsequent to the implementation of HKIDR, Futu is only allowed to process your instruction to sell, transfer or withdraw your securities but not purchase or deposit of securities.
For individual clients, when you login the online stock trading platform or mobile application, the system will pop up the HKIDR Consent Form. If you agree to the consent clauses, simply tick the box at the bottom left and click the "Agree" button.Or provide the express consent here (click here) or via the link in the in-app notification.
For corporate or trust client, please contact our customer services officer for confirmation of CID update as soon as possible or you may visit our Company for the arrangement of the confirmation.
For any enquiries, please contact our customer service hotline at 2523 3588.
Under the investor identification regime, brokers will submit client's identity information to a secured data repository of HKEx and the SFC. The information in the data repository is encrypted and is only accessible by authorised personnel of the SFC and HKEx on need to know basis. Data security and access control measures will be updated regularly with the latest technological developments. Detailed audit trials are maintained of all access, and unauthorized access will be investigated.
You may raise a written request with your Futubull ID to cs@futuhk.comat any time to withdraw your consent previously submitted to Futu.
Please be reminded that if you withdraws your consent previously submitted, Futu can only process your instruction to sell, transfer or withdraw the existing securities.
No acknowledge will be sent to client upon submission. You are strongly advised to keep a record of the consent submitted to Futu.
Each licensed broker is required to obtain independent consent from its clients.
Each licensed broker, including Futu, is required to assign to each of its clients a unique BCAN.
There is no actual submission deadline for HKIDR. However, once the HKIDR is officially launched by HKEx and the SFC, Futu can only process your instruction to sell, transfer or withdraw the existing securities if no consent is obtained. Therefore, client can submit consent at anytime they wish.
New client: Once completing the account opening, you can place an order immediately.
Existing client: it takes around 1 business day to complete the registration.
For more information on the Hong Kong Investor Identification Number System and the OTC Securities Transaction Reporting System and related information, please visit the below HKIDR and OTCR dedicated websites of the SFC and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Securities and Futures Commission (SFC)
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEx)
[1]The 「Broker-to-Client Assigned Number」 is an internal code assigned by brokers and banks to each of their clients. When placing a securities order, brokers and banks must input their own central entity number and their client’s Broker-to-Client Assigned Number. Personal information, including names and identity card numbers, will not be inputted by brokers and banks when handling placement of securities order.