Hong Kong signs AIFMD agreements

Hong Kong officials signed cooperation agreements with 28 European securities regulators (including the UK, France and Germany) that permit fund managers domiciled on the island to continue marketing in the EU via private placement regimes. 

The agreements come in the wake of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD), which requires non-EU jurisdictions to adopt certain provisions or apply regulatory measures equivalent to the directive or risk barring their local GPs from accessing EU investors. 

The agreements come in the form of a memorandum of understanding (MoU). The content of the MoU was agreed with pan-European securities regulator the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) back in May. 

 The MoUs will give both EU and non-EU regulators permission to supervise fund managers that operate on a cross-border basis both within and outside the EU. National regulators will also share information, conduct on-site visits and assist one another in enforcing securities laws. 

In July, other popular private equity domiciles, including Guernsey, Jersey and the Cayman Islands, signed similar agreements.