The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has reminded the investing public that the Hong Kong investor identification regime (HKIDR) will be launched on 20 March 2023. If the investor has not yet responded to the intermediary's request for consent to the transfer of the client's identity information, it should do so as soon as possible.

Under the Hong Kong Investor Identification Code System and Hong Kong's data privacy laws, including the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance, intermediaries are required to obtain express consent from individual clients to submit relevant customer identification information to the SFC and the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (SEHK). The information will be stored in an encrypted database and only authorised officers of the SFC and the Stock Exchange will be able to access it. Intermediaries have generally made requests to clients for obtaining such consent and updating their identity information.

After the implementation of the Hong Kong Investor Identification System, if individual investors do not provide the required consent, they will only be allowed to sell their existing securities on the Stock Exchange and will not be allowed to buy them.

Ms Leung Fung-yee, Chief Executive Officer of SFC, said, "The introduction of the Investor identification system is in line with international practice. Regulators will be able to obtain real-time information on the identity of investors in securities orders. There is no doubt that this will greatly enhance our market monitoring capabilities, promote a clean and sound market, and enhance investor confidence."

According to the Regulator's statement, after the introduction of the Investor Identification System in Hong Kong, the relevant licensed corporations and registered institutions are required to attach the brokerage client codes to the securities trading orders they intend to execute on the Stock Exchange and the non-automatic matching transactions they report to the Stock Exchange, and to submit the names and identification information of their clients to the SFC and the Stock Exchange.