Internal Control

In July 2023, the Securities and Futures Commissions ("SFC") and the Accounting and Financial Reporting Council ("AFRC") issued the first joint statement highlighting common regulatory concerns regarding loans, advances and prepayments arrangements for listed issuers.
 
Listed companies are advised to consider the Statement as an official guideline and evaluate their internal controls and implement necessary enhancements to align with the recommended practices.  
 
<a href="../../../../../uploads/AVISTA_Insights_20230731_83e33f2d49.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Read the summary of the Statement now</a>
 
<a href="../../../../../uploads/AVISTA_Insights_20230731_83e33f2d49.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="../../../../../uploads/cover_EN_01_9790eb32a7.png" alt="" width="400" height="564" /></a>

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CFA, FCPA, FCPA (Aust.), MRICS, RICS Registered Valuer
Vincent is the Founder and Managing Partner of AVISTA Group, who leads the firm’s Valuation Advisory, Risk Management Advisory, ESG Advisory and Corporate Advisory services in Hong Kong and the PRC.
Vincent has over 20 years of experiences in valuation advisory, M&amp;A advisory, business consulting and corporate investment, advising clients in a range of industries, including TMT, financial services, pharmaceutical, energy and etc. Hence, leading the firm to make breakthroughs in these areas.
Before founding AVISTA, Vincent served as an Associate Director of PwC and was in charge of the valuation division in Beijing. He has advised numerous large M&amp;A deals in both China and overseas for multinational corporations and Chinese state-owned enterprises. He also has extensive experiences in providing valuation services for US and HK IPO listing.
Vincent is the Vice Chairman of Business Valuation Committee and the Executive Council Member of The Hong Kong Independent Non-Executive Director Association (HKiNEDA), Reviewer of HKICPA Best Corporate Governance and ESG Awards, Head Juror of Institute of ESG and Benchmark (iESGB) Achievement Awards, and the member of Financial Reporting Valuation Advisory Panel of HKICPA.

VINCENT PANG

Managing Partner

CPA Derek is responsible for Risk Management Advisory and Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) Advisory services in AVISTA. Derek has over 9 years of experience in audit assurance, spanning diverse industries including aesthetic service provision, manufacturing and trading. Before joining AVISTA, Derek had also worked in PwC HK with a client portfolio of US IPO, US listed entities and Japanese MNCs, and was engaged in the IPO process of an electronic component manufacturing group in Hong Kong as a financial controller.

DEREK CHIM

Principal

Summary of SFC and AFRC Joint Statement on Loans, Advances and Prepayments Arrangements

The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (the “HKEX”) has published the Guide for New Listing Applicants (the “Guide”), effective from 1 January 2024, introducing the new chapter on prospectus disclosure requirements and guidance in relation to Corporate Governance and Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) (Chapter4.3 of the Guide). Listing applicants should pay attention to the impact of the Guide on the contents of the prospectus, in order to timely assess and optimize the proposed listing timetable.
 
<a href="../../../../../uploads/HKEX_s_Latest_Prospectus_Disclosure_Requirements_on_Corporate_Governance_and_Environmental_Social_and_Governance_under_the_Guide_for_New_Listing_Applicants_V6_5de8f68b61.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Read the report now</a>
<a href="../../../../../uploads/HKEX_s_Latest_Prospectus_Disclosure_Requirements_on_Corporate_Governance_and_Environmental_Social_and_Governance_under_the_Guide_for_New_Listing_Applicants_V6_5de8f68b61.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="../../../../../uploads/Screenshot_2024_01_19_at_6_41_52_PM_e6c9255108.png" width="500" /></a>

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HKEX’s Latest Prospectus Disclosure Requirements on Corporate Governance & Environmental, Social and Governance under the Guide for New Listing Applicants 

As a guidance and enhanced regulations on the compliance audit activities of personal information protection, the Cyberspace Administration of China issued "Administrative Measures for the Personal Information Protection Compliance Audit (Comment Draft)” and the annex of "Reference Points for Compliance Audit of Personal Information Protection" for public comments.
 
Avista extracted some key provisions, with additional interpretation in terms of internal control, to provide personal information processors a better understanding for the regulatory requirements of the personal information protection-related compliance audit.
 
<a href="../../../../../uploads/Highlights_of_the_Compliance_Audit_Requirement_in_the_Administrative_Measures_for_the_Personal_Information_Protection_Compliance_Audit_Comment_Draft_4a2daaddc3.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Read the report now</a>
<a href="../../../../../uploads/Highlights_of_the_Compliance_Audit_Requirement_in_the_Administrative_Measures_for_the_Personal_Information_Protection_Compliance_Audit_Comment_Draft_4a2daaddc3.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="../../../../../uploads/Screenshot_2023_11_10_at_2_57_02_PM_69620af56e.png" width="500" /></a>

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Highlights of the Compliance Audit Requirement in the “Administrative Measures for the Personal Information Protection Compliance Audit (Comment Draft)”

In October 2023, the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited issued a guidance letter on the "Disclosure of the Basis of Consideration and Business Valuations in Notifiable Transactions”. The guidance letter emphasizes the need for listed companies to provide adequate explanation of the basis for determining the consideration of the transaction by disclosing sufficient and objective information in the disclosure documents, and provides guidance on the recommended disclosures.
 
<a href="../../../../../uploads/HK_Ex_Guidance_Letter_on_Disclosure_of_the_Basis_of_Consideration_and_Business_Valuation_in_Notifiable_Transactions_ab6483414a.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Read the report now</a>
 
<a href="../../../../../uploads/HK_Ex_Guidance_Letter_on_Disclosure_of_the_Basis_of_Consideration_and_Business_Valuation_in_Notifiable_Transactions_ab6483414a.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="../../../../../uploads/Screenshot_2023_11_01_at_2_19_25_PM_a091602f0e.png" width="500" /></a>