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SFC bans Ha Po Kwan for 12 months

Issue date: 2024-06-17 16:30:00

The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has banned Mr Ha Po Kwan, a former licensed representative of Primas Asset Management Limited (PAML), from re-entering the industry for 12 months from 14 June 2024 to 13 June 2025 (Note 1).

The disciplinary action follows an SFC investigation which found that in June 2021, Ha, a director of PAML at the material time, created two false documents by altering information on the strike price or maturity date in the original product flashes of two accumulator contracts. He then sent the two false product flashes to a client of PAML to mislead the client about the maturity date or strike price of the accumulator contracts he had bought for the client’s account that he managed with full discretionary authority and served as the relationship manager (Notes 2 and 3).

Ha also used his personal email account for business communication with the same client. By doing so, Ha’s conduct circumvented PAML’s internal policies and prevented it from properly monitoring his operation of the client’s account.

The SFC considers that Ha is guilty of misconduct and is not fit and proper to be a licensed person.

In deciding the disciplinary sanction against Ha, the SFC has taken into account all relevant circumstances, including:

• his conduct in creating and sending the false product flashes to the client was deliberate and dishonest;
• he did not obtain any personal monetary gain from his misconduct;
• his misconduct did not cause any financial loss for the client;
• his admission of his misconduct and co-operation in the SFC’s investigation; and
• his otherwise clean disciplinary record.

End

Notes:

1. Ha was licensed under the Securities and Futures Ordinance to carry on Type 9 (asset management) regulated activity and was accredited to PAML from 6 March 2019 to 30 June 2021. He is currently not licensed by the SFC.
2. PAML is an asset management company incorporated in Hong Kong licensed to carry on Type 4 (advising on securities) regulated activity and Type 9 (asset management) regulated activity. PAML operates an external asset management business, which involves the management of clients’ assets in accounts held with custodian banks.
3. A product flash is a document prepared by the seller of a financial product which summarises the key terms of the product.

Source: SFC