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a. A person (including a corporation) seeking to be a PI (the "applicant") must be a Type A regulatee of an industry regulator (please refer to the following Question 2 for what is meant by a Type A regulatee);

b. within 1 year immediately before the date of the application, the applicant has not had any qualification as a Type A regulatee revoked on the disciplinary grounds (see section 34J(1) of the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Ordinance (Cap. 485) (MPFSO);

c. the applicant does not have any qualification as a Type A regulatee suspended (see section 34J(2) of the MPFSO);

d. within 1 year immediately before the date of the application, the applicant has not had a registration as a registered intermediary revoked by the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority (MPFA) under section 34ZW(3)(a)(i) of the MPFSO; and

e. the applicant is not disqualified by the MPFA under section 34ZW(3)(a)(ii) of the MPFSO from being registered as an intermediary for carrying on regulated activities.

A Type A regulatee,

a. in relation to the Insurance Authority, means

   i. company authorized under the Insurance Ordinance (Cap. 41) to carry on long term insurance business within the meaning of that Ordinance; or
   ii. a licensed long term insurance broker company;

b. in relation to the Monetary Authority, means an authorized financial institution registered under section 119 of the SFO for Type 1 or Type 4 regulated activity, or both, within the meaning of that Ordinance; or

c. in relation to the Securities and Futures Commission, means a corporation licensed under section 116 of the SFO to carry on Type 1 or Type 4 regulated activity, or both, within the meaning of that Ordinance.

a. A person or a licensed long term insurance agency seeking to be an SI (the "applicant") must be a Type B regulatee of an industry regulator (please refer to the following Question 7 for what is meant by a Type B regulatee);

b. within 1 year immediately before the date of the application, the applicant has not had any qualification as a Type B regulatee revoked on disciplinary grounds (see section 34K(1) of the MPFSO);

c. the applicant does not have any qualification as a Type B regulatee suspended (see section 34K(2) of the MPFSO);

d. within 1 year immediately before the date of the application, the applicant has not had a registration as a registered intermediary revoked by the MPFA under section 34ZW(3)(a)(i) of the MPFSO;

e. the applicant is not disqualified by the MPFA under section 34ZW(3)(a)(ii) of the MPFSO from being registered as an intermediary for carrying on regulated activities for a principal intermediary to which the applicant is to be attached; and

f. if the applicant is an individual, the applicant has, within 1 year immediately before the date of the application, passed a qualifying examination specified by the MPFA. This will not be applicable if within 3 years immediately before the date of the application, the applicant has been registered as a subsidiary intermediary and that registration has been revoked, and the revocation, or the last revocation (if there is more than one), is not made due to non-compliance with the continuing training requirement.

Currently, the two qualifying examinations specified by the MPFA are:

 

a. Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Examination conducted by the Vocational Training Council; and

b. MPF Intermediaries Examination conducted by the Hong Kong Securities and Investment Institute.

These examinations are based on the same syllabus and are recognized by the MPFA as meeting the examination requirement to be an intermediary.

For enrolment and examination schedules, you may contact:

The Vocational Training Council (Tel: 2919 1467 / 2919 1468 / 2919 1478) or
The Hong Kong Securities and Investment Institute (Tel: 3120 6220)

If you have not registered as an SI for more than 3 years or if you have been a registered SI for the past 3 years but your registration has been revoked due to non-compliance of continuing training requirement, then you need to re-take and pass a qualifying examination.

A Type B regulatee,

a. in relation to the Insurance Authority, means
    i.  a licensed long term individual insurance agent;
    ii.  a licensed long term insurance agency; or
   iii.  a licensed long term technical representative.

b. in relation to the Monetary Authority, means
    i.  a relevant individual registered under section 20 of the Banking Ordinance (Cap.155)(“BO”) as engaged in Type 1 or Type 4 regulated activity, or both, within the meaning of the SFO; or
   ii.  a person who, with the consent of the Monetary Authority under section 71C of the BO, is an executive officer of a registered institution appointed under section 71D of the BO to be responsible for directly supervising the conduct of each business conducted by the registered institution that constitutes Type 1 or Type 4 regulated activity, or both, within the meaning of the SFO.

c. in relation to the Securities and Futures Commission, means a person licensed under section 120 of the SFO to carry on Type 1 or Type 4 regulated activity, or both, within the meaning of that Ordinance.

a. An individual who is a subsidiary intermediary attached to the PI;

b. the individual has sufficient authority within the PI, and will be provided with sufficient resources and support, for carrying out specified responsibilities in relation to the PI;

c. within 1 year immediately before the date of the application, the individual has not had an approval as an RO revoked by the MPFA under section 34ZW(4)(a)(i) of the MPFSO; and

d. the individual is not disqualified by the MPFA under section 34ZW(4)(a)(ii) of the MPFSO from being approved as an RO in relation to a PI.

Yes, your PI needs to submit a Form INT-5 for you.

If you cease to be a Type B regulatee when you leave your PI, then you are required to notify the MPFA within 7 working days by completing a Form INT-7. The MPFA will revoke your attachment to your PI. Whether your registration as an SI remains will depend on whether you have also been attached to another PI. If you have only one PI and the approval of attachment to the PI is revoked, then your registration as an SI will only remain for 90 days from the day of revocation of the approval of attachment by the MPFA. If you cannot find another PI for an attachment, then your registration will be revoked after 90 days. On the other hand, if there is another PI consent to your attachment to it, then the PI is required to apply to the MPFA for an approval of attachment. Once the attachment is approved, then your registration will continue to remain.

a. If he has never been an SI, your company needs to ensure that he takes and passes a qualifying examination, and then submits a Form INT-2 for registration and approval of attachment for him.

b. If he is an SI and he is not attached to a PI because the period that he has been detached from a PI for 90 days or less, then your company only needs to submit a Form INT-5 for approval of attachment between him and your company.

c. If he has been an SI and he has been detached from a PI for more than 90 days, then your company needs to submit a Form INT-2 for him.

Your company needs to complete a Form INT-5 to notify the MPFA as soon as possible that the attachment between your SI and your company ceases to subsist.

You need to notify the MPFA your cessation as an RO within 7 working days after it occurs by completing a Form INT-7. Your PI also needs to do the same by notifying the MPFA about your cessation and completes a Form INT-6. If you will not act as an SI for your PI, then your PI also needs to notify the MPFA about the cessation of your attachment to it by completing a Form INT-5.

When completing Section II of Form INT-4, the applicant (the PI or the corporation seeking to be a PI) has to (i) state the job responsibilities of the individual to act as an RO in details and (ii) provide an organization chart showing the position of that individual in the corporate structure of the principal intermediary (PI).

 

Section II focuses on the perspectives of regulatory and compliance-related duties.  The applicant will need to demonstrate that the individual is delegated with sufficient power and authority in order to make relevant decisions and perform specified responsibilities within the PI and he/she is provided with sufficient resources/support for carrying out specified responsibilities in relation to the PI. 

 

Under section 34I of the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Ordinance (MPFSO), a reference to specified responsibilities in relation to a PI, is a reference to:

 

(a) the responsibility to ensure that the PI has established and maintains proper controls and procedures for securing compliance by the PI, and by each subsidiary intermediary attached to the PI, with the requirements of Part 4A of the MPFSO; and

 

(b) the responsibility to ensure that the PI uses the PI’s best endeavors to secure observance by subsidiary intermediaries attached to the PI of the controls and procedures mentioned in (a).

 

*Section II relates to job responsibilities of individual to act as a responsible officer in the principal intermediary /  corporation seeking to be a principle intermediary, and individual’s position in the corporation structure. 

Under Section III of Form INT-4, the applicant has to describe (with relevant details) what resources and support the PI will provide to the individual who will act as an RO of the PI.  For instance, the PI could provide adequate resources and support to the individual in relevant functional areas, including but not limited to legal and compliance, training and development, human resources, operation and technological support.

 

The resources and support that are considered as adequate would depend on a range of factors (e.g., operation scale, number of SIs, range and type of business activities and the level of risk).  At a minimum, the PI should provide adequate resources and support to the RO for him/her to carry out the specified responsibilities under section 34I of the MPFSO.  

 

It is also essential for the individual to have access to the senior management for obtaining further resources and support when necessary, so as to ensure that the specified responsibilities can be performed by the RO effectively and efficiently. 

 

*Section III relates to resources and support to be provided to the individual by the principal intermediary / corporation seeking to be a principal intermediary.