Page 42 - 期货和衍生品行业监管动态（2025年4月）

期货和衍生品行业监管动态

clear, accurate and timely communication regarding changes to their products
and services; (b) what measures are in place to encourage FIFCs to adopt

responsible marketing strategies, avoid overpromising on returns or benefits and

avoid offering overly attractive promotional offers to customers; and (c) how

does MAS ensure that fintech companies adhere to the same standards of risk

management and consumer communications as banks.

Answer by Mr Alvin Tan, Minister of State, Ministry of Trade and Industry and

Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, and Board member of MAS, on behalf of

Mr Gan Kim Yong, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry, and

Chairman of MAS:

Mr Speaker, with your permission, I would like to take Questions 7 and 8

together please, as they touch on similar issues.

Mr Speaker, investment platforms operating as digital advisers that manage

investment portfolios on behalf of customers, are licensed as Capital Markets Services

Licensees (“CMSLs”) under the Securities and Futures Act. They offer portfolios

which are invested into funds managed by other licensed fund management

companies. These investment platforms are required by regulation to keep customers’
assets legally separate and safekept by licensed custodians. The recent incident

involving a surge in withdrawals from an investment platform illustrate that the

safeguards worked as intended. Customers’ assets were properly segregated from the

platform and requests for withdrawal were redeemed in an orderly manner, within the

standard fund redemption timeframe of three to six working days. Customers received

the market value of their investments within the typical three to six days.

In the specific case mentioned above, the investment platform offered two

unique features, which they marketed prominently to customers. First, it offered

instant withdrawals for customers, up to a limit per account. Second, it allowed

customers to spend on a debit card that was linked to the value of their underlying

28