Hong Kong Securities Institute (HKSI)
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The Hong Kong Securities Institute (HKSI), is a professional membership body established in Hong Kong, one of the most matured financial centers in the world, to promote and facilitate the governance, integrity and competency of finance practitioners in the city.
Essentially, the HKSI is an examination body for a series of financial qualification for professionals in the area of financial services industry. One of the most popular exams is Licensing Examination for Securities and Futures Intermediaries (LE). Professionals such as in the areas of dealing and trading securities are required by the Securities and Futures Ordinance (SFO) to gain LE qualification for practices in regulated activities. The Securities and Futures Ordinance (SFO) established a single licensing regime with 9 types of regulated activities (RAs). The regulated activities include:
| 9 types of Regulated activities |
|---|
| Dealing in securities |
| Dealing in futures contracts |
| Leveraged foreign exchange trading |
| Advising on securities |
| Advising on futures contracts |
| Advising on corporate finance |
| Providing ATS |
| Securities margin financing |
| Asset management |
The LE has 10 examination papers which focus on regulatory and technical matters which include two core papers and eight specialized papers.
| Examination Papers |
|---|
| Regulatory Papers |
| 1 Fundamentals of Securities and Futures Regulation (Core Paper) |
| 2 Regulation of Securities |
| 3 Regulation of Derivatives |
| 5 Regulation of Corporate Finance |
| 6 Regulation of Asset Management |
| Practical Papers |
| 7 Financial Markets (Core Paper) |
| 8 Securities |
| 9 Derivatives |
| 11 Corporate Finance |
| 12 Asset Management |
Paper 1 Regulations for Securities and Futures Intermediaries and Paper 7 Financial Markets are the core papers required by Securities and Futures Ordinance (SFO) for LE Certificate. Most employers require a combination of regulatory papers for HKSI LE certificate in their job description for finance practicing activities.
| HKSI LE Certificate | Practising | Specialist |
|---|---|---|
| HKSI LE Certificate | Practising | Specialist |
| Securities | 1 + 7 + 8 | 1 + 2 + 7 + 8 |
| Derivatives | 1 + 7 + 9 | 1 + 2 + 7 + 9 |
| Corporate Finance | 1 + 7 + 11 | 1 + 5 + 7 + 11 |
| Asset Management | 1 + 7 + 12 | 1 + 6 + 7 + 12 |
Other than LE, HKSI also provides MPF Intermediaries Examination (MPF), Professional Diploma in Financial Markets (PDFM), Diploma Programme Examination (DPE), CIIA Final Examination, LE in Mainland China and PRC Securities Regulations Examination.
