Compliance advisory services

We act as IPO compliance advisers for Main Board and GEM listed companies in Hong Kong, set forth below are the two circumstances in which a listed company must appoint a compliance adviser:

(i) pursuant to Rule 3A.19 of the Listing Rules (or Rule 6A.19 of the GEM Listing Rules), issuers must appoint a compliance adviser for the period commencing on its listing until the publication of financial results for the first (for Main Board listed issuers) or second (for GEM listed issuers) full financial year after its listing; and

(ii) pursuant to Rule 3A.20 of the Listing Rules (or Rule 6A.20 of the GEM Listing Rules), at any time after the said period, the Stock Exchange may also direct a listed issuer to appoint a compliance adviser when a listed issuer has been held to have breached the Listing Rules (or the GEM Listing Rules), particularly when the breaches are persistent or serious or give rise to concerns about the adequacy of compliance arrangements or the directors’ understanding of, and their obligations to comply with the Listing Rules (or the GEM Listing Rules).

After completing sponsorship projects for IPOs with existing clients or other new listing companies, we provide comprehensive professional services as a compliance adviser. It is our aim to help our clients to understand clearly their ongoing regulatory obligations and create compliance plans to meet those requirements. We also offer personalised compliance support to ensure the regulatory obligations are met and regulatory relationships run as smoothly as possible. In the fast-changing world, businesses keep growing and expanding, simultaneously, legislation and regulation keep updating rapidly. We, acting as a compliance adviser, keep our clients up to date on the latest rules and regulations, and also the latest industry trends and ensure them to fully comply with applicable ordinances, rules, regulations, code of conducts and relevant guidelines by updating from different sources, including government authorities, media, the Stock Exchange and the SFC. Further, we provide compliance advisory services on M&A and provide professional as well as insightful opinions before publishing the announcements and circulars of notifiable transactions, assist in communicating with the Stock Exchange for our clients for various issues, and assist companies under investigations or in addressing regulatory difficulties.

As the business ecosystem is becoming more complex, companies have shifted to operating in a global environment with a broad and fragmented legislative framework, as such, compliance has become of prime importance in organizations. A listed issuer must consult with and, if necessary, seek advice from its compliance advisers on a timely basis in prescribed circumstances, e.g. before publication of any regulatory announcement, circular or financial report. Our professional IPO compliance advisers are able to assist our clients across a multitude of industries to handle the complex and ever-changing regulatory environments.