Founder of Futu: Will Actively Embrace Regulation and Steadily Advance Subsequent Compliance Work

On May 28, Leaf Li, founder of Futu Holdings (3588.HK), addressed investors during the company’s Q1 2026 earnings call. Li explained that new, industry-wide rules issued by Chinese regulators on May 22 apply uniformly to all firms operating in cross-border securities, futures, and fund services for mainland investors. For the two-year regulatory adjustment period covering mainland clients, Li emphasized the rule does not mandate account closures—rather, it restricts inward money transfers and trading activity from within mainland China. He noted Futu will fully embrace compliance and move ahead with subsequent regulatory work in strict accordance with guidelines, adding the new regulatory update is not expected to have a material impact on Futu’s annual goal of 800,000 new clients. Li also revealed Futu stopped opening new accounts for mainland Chinese ID holders two years ago, and has significantly strengthened its account verification process since, rejecting tens of thousands of non-compliant applications over that time. As of the end of the first quarter this year, mainland clients accounted for roughly 13% of total assets, approximately 17% of client assets, and contributed around 20% of the company’s revenue. Going forward, Futu plans to expand into additional international markets.