President of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Professionals Association: The application process for virtual asset practitioners must be open and transparent, and the mandatory examination require

PANews reported on February 21 that, according to Hong Kong media outlet Orange News, practitioners in Hong Kong's virtual asset and related businesses are facing sudden changes in compliance requirements. According to Chan Chi-wah, president of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Professionals Association, applicants for virtual asset license upgrades and responsible personnel (ROs) who have already obtained upgrade qualifications are required to take a virtual asset regulatory exam administered by a single organization. Furthermore, the exam is bundled with the organization's courses, course materials cannot be easily reviewed, and registration and technical support are chaotic. It is understood that this requirement was not issued through official documents or public guidelines, but rather through verbal communication or individual emails, lacking transparency and fairness. This increases compliance costs for practitioners, impacts business development, and the lack of a public consultation mechanism means policy-making lacks frontline feedback. The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Professionals Association recommends maintaining the existing additional 5 hours of Continuing Professional Training (CPT) and urges regulators to immediately suspend the use of implicit policies to enforce the exam requirements, establish a transparent consultation mechanism, and incorporate stakeholder opinions into policy-making to ensure feasibility and market fairness.