CSRC Menyasarkan Tiger Brokers, Futu dan Longbridge dalam Tindakan Keras Dagangan Rentas Sempadan Utama

Pada 22 Mei, Suruhanjaya Kawal Selia Sekuriti China (CSRC) secara rasmi mengumumkan notis penalti pentadbiran terhadap Tiger Brokers, Futu Holdings dan Longbridge atas operasi sekuriti rentas sempadan haram.

Menurut CSRC, entiti domestik dan luar negara yang berkaitan dengan ketiga-tiga firma tersebut mengendalikan perniagaan pembrokeran sekuriti dan pembiayaan margin di tanah besar China tanpa kelulusan kawal selia atau lesen yang betul. Firma-firma tersebut dituduh menjalankan aktiviti pemasaran sekuriti, memproses arahan perdagangan dan menjana keuntungan berkaitan di dalam China.

Pengawal selia itu juga menyatakan bahawa beberapa aktiviti melibatkan penjualan dana awam haram dan perkhidmatan broker niaga hadapan haram. CSRC dengan jelas menyatakan bahawa ia merancang untuk:

"Rampas semua keuntungan haram yang diperoleh oleh entiti berkaitan Tiger Brokers, Futu Holdings dan Longbridge, dan kenakan hukuman berat mengikut undang-undang."

Berbanding dengan pendekatan kawal selia 2022 yang tertumpu pada "menghentikan pengguna baharu tanah besar" dan "menyelesaikan operasi perniagaan sedia ada", langkah terbaru ini menandakan fasa penguatkuasaan yang lebih ketat.

CSRC juga menekankan bahawa China akan terus mengambil tindakan keras terhadap operasi sekuriti haram yang dijalankan oleh institusi luar negara di tanah besar China. Ini menunjukkan bahawa peraturan China terhadap pembrokeran dalam talian rentas sempadan sedang beralih daripada "pembetulan" kepada penguatkuasaan berskala penuh.

Mengapakah Pengawal Selia China Meningkatkan Tindakan Keras?

Satu sebab utama kes ini mengejutkan pasaran adalah peningkatan yang jelas dalam bahasa kawal selia.

Apabila CSRC pertama kali menamakan Futu Holdings dan Tiger Brokers pada tahun 2022 , nada keseluruhannya lebih tertumpu pada "pembetulan" dan "pelarasan pematuhan." Pada masa itu, pengawal selia terutamanya bertujuan untuk menghentikan pengguna tanah besar baharu sambil menyelesaikan operasi perniagaan sedia ada secara beransur-ansur. Kebanyakan pelabur percaya pengguna sedia ada boleh terus berdagang dalam jangka pendek.

Tetapi kali ini sangat berbeza.

Pengumuman terkini mengesahkan bahawa pengawal selia telah secara rasmi membuka siasatan dan mengeluarkan notis awal tentang penalti pentadbiran. CSRC secara langsung menyatakan:

"Rampas semua keuntungan haram yang diperoleh oleh entiti berkaitan Tiger Brokers, Futu Holdings dan Longbridge, dan kenakan hukuman berat mengikut undang-undang."

Berbanding dengan perkataan sebelumnya seperti "pembetulan" dan "penyeragaman," ini jelas menandakan peringkat penguatkuasaan formal.

Lebih penting lagi, skop pelanggaran adalah lebih luas daripada yang dijangkakan. Selain operasi sekuriti haram, pengawal selia juga menuduh firma tersebut melakukan penjualan dana awam haram dan aktiviti pembrokeran niaga hadapan haram.

This means Chinese regulators are no longer only targeting “cross-border account opening,” but are now tightening oversight over the entire business model of overseas institutions providing securities, fund, and futures services inside mainland China.

Why Was Longbridge Named for the First Time?

Compared with Tiger Brokers and Futu Holdings, Longbridge’s inclusion surprised many market observers.

During the 2022 crackdown, regulators mainly targeted Tiger Brokers and Futu Holdings publicly. Although Longbridge operated under a similar cross-border online brokerage model, it was not formally named at the time.

However, over the past two years, the regulatory focus has gradually shifted from targeting individual platforms to tightening the entire business category.

Especially after Chinese regulators launched a multi-agency crackdown on illegal cross-border securities, futures, and fund operations in 2024, the focus moved beyond simply restricting new accounts.

Authorities began systematically tightening overseas institutions’ business activities inside mainland China.

From this perspective, Longbridge being added to the penalty list suggests regulators are now targeting the broader cross-border online brokerage model itself.

Why Is This Different From 2022?

Many investors reacted to the news by asking:

“Didn’t regulators already crack down on this in 2022?”

The key difference is that the 2022 measures mainly focused on rectification, while this time regulators have clearly entered a formal administrative punishment stage.

Back in late 2022, the main regulatory requirements were:

• Stop onboarding new mainland clients
• Stop opening new accounts
• Gradually resolve existing business operations

At the time, the market generally believed regulators mainly wanted to stop future growth rather than immediately shut down existing users.

But this time is clearly different.

The CSRC has formally launched investigations and issued advance notices of penalties, while also stating:

“Confiscate all illegal gains obtained by the related entities of Tiger Brokers, Futu Holdings, and Longbridge, and impose severe penalties according to law.”

This is a far stronger enforcement signal than previous “rectification” language.

China’s regulation of cross-border online brokerages has steadily intensified over the past few years.

This is why many investors now believe the situation has fundamentally changed.

The Biggest Question for Chinese Users: Can They Still Trade?

After the latest crackdown, the market’s biggest concern is no longer whether regulators will impose penalties, but:

Can mainland Chinese users still trade Hong Kong and U.S. stocks through Tiger Brokers, Futu Holdings, and Longbridge?

For existing users with active positions, the biggest concerns include:

• Will accounts be frozen?
• Can funds still be withdrawn?
• Can users continue buying stocks?
• Will the apps eventually stop working?

Based on currently available information, regulators do not appear to be pursuing an immediate “one-size-fits-all shutdown.” Instead, they are gradually tightening the overall cross-border online brokerage model.

Will Existing Accounts Be Affected?

So far, Chinese regulators still appear to be targeting illegal cross-border operations rather than directly targeting individual investor accounts.

Both the 2022 crackdown and later rectification plans emphasized the “orderly resolution of existing business” while protecting investors’ legitimate assets.

Authorities have not announced measures such as:

• Forced liquidation
• Frozen customer assets
• Banned withdrawals

For existing users, the more likely short-term outcome is a gradual transition period rather than an immediate shutdown.

Can Users Still Buy Hong Kong and U.S. Stocks?

This remains one of the market’s most sensitive questions.

The CSRC announcement itself does not explicitly mention “banning trading” or “banning positions.” However, the regulatory direction has become increasingly clear over recent years:

• Restrict new mainland users
• Restrict new capital inflows
• Gradually reduce cross-border brokerage operations inside China

In the 2023 rectification plan, regulators already stated that platforms should not accept new mainland investors or new mainland funds.

Some Chinese financial media reports citing related rectification plans have suggested that certain platforms could eventually enter a “sell-only” transition phase. Under such a model, users may still be allowed to sell holdings and withdraw funds, but would no longer be able to open new positions or add capital.

However, this wording does not currently appear directly in the latest CSRC announcement.

This suggests that while trading may not stop immediately, the long-term space for mainland investors to directly trade Hong Kong and U.S. stocks through cross-border online brokers is gradually shrinking.

What Does the Two-Year Transition Period Mean?

The “two-year transition period” has also become a major topic in the market.

This concept mainly comes from the 2024 multi-agency crackdown on illegal cross-border securities, futures, and fund operations. According to several Chinese financial media reports, regulators planned a transition period of roughly two years to gradually resolve existing business operations.

In simple terms, this resembles a “soft exit.”

Rather than forcing all platforms to stop operating immediately, regulators appear to be gradually reducing their business scale inside mainland China through:

• Stopping new account openings
• Restricting new capital inflows
• Reducing domestic marketing activities
• Membongkar rangkaian perniagaan rentas sempadan secara beransur-ansur

Bagi kebanyakan pelabur, ini bermakna persoalan yang lebih besar mungkin bukan lagi sama ada perdagangan masih boleh dilakukan hari ini, tetapi sama ada saluran ini akan terus wujud beberapa tahun dari sekarang.

Era Perdagangan Saham Rentas Sempadan yang Mudah Mungkin Akan Berubah

Platform seperti Webull, moomoo dan Interactive Brokers juga semakin dibincangkan kerana ia menyediakan akses perdagangan rentas sempadan yang serupa kepada pelabur China.

Platform seperti Tiger Brokers, Futu Holdings dan Longbridge berkembang pesat kerana ia menandingi peningkatan permintaan dalam kalangan pelabur China untuk peruntukan aset luar negara.

Berbanding dengan broker tradisional, aplikasi ini menawarkan:

• Pembukaan akaun yang lebih mudah
• Halangan kemasukan yang lebih rendah
• Lebih banyak pengalaman perdagangan mesra pengguna
• Akses terus ke pasaran saham Hong Kong dan AS

Semasa kenaikan kukuh dalam saham teknologi AS, ramai pelabur muda China memasuki pasaran luar negara buat kali pertama melalui aplikasi ini.

Walau bagaimanapun, dari perspektif pengawalseliaan, satu isu teras sentiasa kekal:

Platform-platform ini memegang lesen luar negara tetapi telah lama menyediakan perkhidmatan berkaitan sekuriti secara langsung kepada pelabur tanah besar China.

Dalam beberapa tahun kebelakangan ini, pengawal selia China tidak menyasarkan pelaburan saham luar negara itu sendiri, tetapi sebaliknya:

• Pemerolehan pelanggan domestik
• Pembukaan akaun rentas sempadan
• Aktiviti pemasaran domestik
• Perkhidmatan berkaitan perdagangan domestik
• Keseluruhan rantaian perdagangan rentas sempadan

Ini menjelaskan mengapa logik kawal selia kekal sangat konsisten dari tahun 2022 hingga 2026:

Tanpa kebenaran tanah besar China, institusi tidak boleh terus mengendalikan perniagaan berkaitan sekuriti di dalam China.

Oleh kerana itu, kebimbangan pasaran kini berkembang melangkaui Tiger Brokers, Futu Holdings dan Longbridge.

Walau bagaimanapun, pengawal selia China setakat ini hanya secara rasmi menamakan Tiger Brokers, Futu Holdings dan Longbridge dalam prosiding penalti pentadbiran.

Tiada notis penalti rasmi yang serupa telah diumumkan untuk platform lain pada peringkat ini.

Namun, satu trend industri semakin jelas:

Era akses langsung sekatan rendah ke Hong Kong dan perdagangan saham AS dari tanah besar China mungkin akan berakhir secara beransur-ansur.

Saluran pelaburan rentas sempadan masa hadapan berkemungkinan akan menjadi semakin:

• Dipacu oleh lesen
• Berfokus pada pematuhan
• Dikawal selia tempatan

Bagi pelabur biasa, pelarasan yang lebih besar mungkin bukan sekadar sama ada satu platform masih tersedia, tetapi bagaimana pelabur tanah besar China mengakses pasaran luar negara pada masa hadapan.