Chinese Brokerages in HK Tighten Account Verification for Mainland Investors; Suspend Onshore Buying from Late October

According to a report by The Economic Observer, since September, several Chinese brokerages operating in Hong Kong—including Guodu Hong Kong, GF Securities (HK), and Guotai Junan International—have issued notices adjusting service rules for existing mainland investors. Execution standards are largely uniform: if existing mainland investors log into their accounts from within mainland China, services such as opening new stock positions, adding to holdings, and transferring funds will be suspended. Existing holdings can still be sold or closed normally, and account queries and fund withdrawals remain unaffected. For instance, a notice received by an investor in Dalian from Huatai Financial Holdings (Hong Kong) stated that these restrictions would take effect from Beijing Time, October 30, 2026.

This rectification stems from the 'Implementation Plan for Comprehensive Rectification of Illegal Cross-border Securities, Futures, and Fund Business Activities' jointly issued by eight departments including the CSRC in May this year, along with a circular issued by the SFC to licensed corporations during the same period. The plan explicitly prohibits overseas institutions from illegally providing buy-side trading and fund transfer services to existing investors within mainland China, allowing only one-way selling transactions and fund transfers out.

In terms of scrutiny, Chinese brokerages in Hong Kong have significantly tightened identity material update standards. Reporters learned that proof of overseas residence or a Hong Kong work visa alone is no longer sufficient for updating information materials. Investors must provide valid overseas identity documents, namely Hong Kong Permanent Resident ID cards, Hong Kong Non-Permanent Resident ID cards, or passports from other countries. Additionally, some brokerages have strengthened identity witnessing procedures, requiring original certificates witnessed by professional third parties or in-person verification at the company, while also conducting retrospective reviews of past account opening materials and fund source chains.