Member Article

Authorisation of funds by the Macau Monetary Authority (“MMA”) is necessary for funds to be distributed to the public in Macau. Authorisation will only be granted if the investment funds have been duly authorised in their country of origin and the respective funds managers and custodians are subject to supervision by a competent home regulator. In practice funds are usually authorised in Macau on the basis that they are already authorised by the SFC in Hong Kong. As part of the approval procedures, applicants must submit an application form and the following information for review by the MMA: • information on the fund such as the name, structure, domicile/jurisdiction, supervisory authority and details such as the investment objectives, fees and charges and valuation arrangements (similar to the SFC application form); • information on the parties involved in the fund such as the name and address of the management company, trustee/custodian, investment adviser, Macau representative, auditors and solicitors; and • the offering and constitutive documents of the fund (including M&A and material contracts), the latest audited report of the fund, trustee/custodian and the management company, the agreement between the fund and its representative in Macau, and evidence of the authorised status of the scheme in its place of establishment. Although the information required for MMA is similar to that required to be submitted to the SFC in Hong Kong, the registration process in Macau is in the nature of a filing. Past experience indicates that it would be unusual for the Authority to make detailed comments on the documents submitted. The MMA relevant approval committee meets once a week every Thursday to consider applications for authorisation. An application should be submitted at least one week in advance so that the MMA can review the papers before putting forward the funds for approval by the committee so the approval process usually takes around three to four weeks. We would generally make the application when SFC authorisation is granted.