China Tightens Cross-Border Trading Rules; Brokers Clean Up Ineligible Accounts

Shanghai, May 28 (CNA). The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) announced on the 22nd a crackdown on illegal cross-border operations by offshore brokerages, imposing heavy fines on three companies including Futu. Recently, Futu and Longbridge have begun closing ineligible accounts and requiring clients to update their offshore identification. According to Yicai, the companies are purging accounts opened with false documents and empty accounts with no assets. Futu's app has added a shortcut for updating identity information, noting that if clients hold valid offshore ID, their trading and fund access will remain unaffected. Valid IDs include Hong Kong permanent/non-permanent resident IDs, work/study visas, and Singaporean PR/EP/SP/WP. Futu customer service stated the new regulations affect only investors holding mainland Chinese IDs or passports. Longbridge also confirmed that the cleanup targets accounts opened with suspicious documents or those with zero balance.