The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission has issued a circular setting out enhancements to the Cross-boundary Wealth Management Connect Pilot Scheme (Cross-boundary WMC) aimed at enabling closer communication between participating licensed corporations (Participating LCs) and their clients in the scheme. Under the new arrangements, Participating LCs may obtain one-off written consent, valid for up to one year, from Southbound Scheme clients who are not physically present in Hong Kong to explain product information based on each client’s needs and selected product categories. At a Southbound client’s request, Mainland partner brokers within the same corporate groups as Participating LCs may arrange online three-party dialogues at their places of business for Participating LCs to explain product information to clients. With one-off written consent, Participating LCs may also provide clients with research reports on individual investment products prepared by these partner brokers. The same arrangements apply to the Northbound Scheme. The SFC referenced its 24 January 2024 circular on participation in Cross-boundary WMC for the broader framework and indicated it will continue working with the industry and other regulatory authorities to further enhance the scheme.