Securities Commission issues revised Guidelines on Recognised Markets

11 January 2023

In addition to amendments made to the Guidelines on Recognised Markets (“Guidelines”) pursuant to the introduction of the Guidelines on Islamic Capital Market Products and Services, the SC issued a revised version of the Guidelines on 15 November 2022, which incorporated several key amendments as follows:

Chapter 6: Recognised Market Operator (“RMO”) Obligations

  • A new requirement for a RMO to seek approval from or notify the SC when there is any change in controller, shareholder, directors, or responsible person of a RMO;
  • A new requirement for a RMO to notify the SC in relation to any new business, shares, or interests of a RMO;

Chapter 14: Peer-to-peer financing platform

  • Expansion of the list of permitted issuers to include public-listed companies and their subsidiaries;
  • Deletion of public-listed companies and their subsidiaries from the list of non-permitted issuers;

Chapter 15: Digital Asset Exchange

  • Inclusion of the definitions of “Digital Broker Model” and “Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP)”;
  • Expansion of eligibility and financial requirements relating to a Digital Asset Exchange (“DAX”) operator operating a Digital Broker model;
  • Expansion of requirements relating to the management of conflict of interests by a DAX operator;
  • Inclusion of new requirements relating to the delisting of a Digital Asset by a DAX operator;
  • Inclusion of new requirements relating to a DAX operator operating a Digital Broker model;
  • Inclusion of new requirements for existing DAXs to obtain the SC’s prior approval to operate any other DAX model;
  • Expansion of the requirements relating to client asset protection by a DAX operator;
  • Inclusion of new requirements relating to the settlement arrangement of a DAX operator operating a Digital Broker model;
  • Inclusion of new requirement relating to the pricing methodology and market making activities of a DAX operator;

Chapter 17: E-services perform

  • Expansion of class of investment products allowed to be offered on an e-services platform to include products offered by any other RMOs;
  • Inclusion of new requirement for an e-services platform operator to obtain prior authorisation from a relevant sectorial regulator to offer a non-capital market product;
  • Expansion of the requirement to apply where another RMO had carried out the obligation to monitor anti-money laundering, counter terrorism financing and counter proliferation financing requirements;
  • Expansion of the requirements relating to settlement and payment to include any other RMO offering a capital market product on an e-services platform.