ASIC has extended to certain Luxembourg fund managers the relief from the requirement to hold an Australian financial services licence, currently provided to other foreign financial services provider (in particular from the UK, US, Singapore, Hong Kong and Germany).

The relief applies to body corporates incorporated in Luxembourg as either an investment company or a management company with a current licence or authorisation granted by the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF), authorising them to provide financial services (to wholesale/institutional clients) and is on similar terms to the relief that is currently granted to other foreign providers. As with the relief for other jurisdictions, a Luxembourg fund manager would need to meet certain conditions and provide certain documents to ASIC before it can rely on the relief.

The instrument, ASIC Corporations (CSSF-Regulated Financial Services Providers) Instrument 2016/1109, was made on 8 November 2016 and applies until 28 September 2018, in line with ASIC's previously announced review of relief provided to foreign financial service providers. ASIC has indicated it proposes to carry out the review over the next 12 months and consult on ASIC's proposals to remake the relief for foreign financial service providers in early 2018.

Our previous Insight on ASIC's review of this relief can be found here - http://www.hdy.com.au/our-insights/insights/asic-extends-relief-for-foreign-financial-service. Holders of existing exemptions should consider making submissions to ASIC once the consultation period has opened as this may assist in securing those exemptions into the future. A link to ASIC's Consultation Paper which sets out further detail on its proposed review can be found here - http://download.asic.gov.au/media/4021889/cp268-published-28-september-2016.pdf.

ASIC has stated that its aim in reassessing the current relief will be to strike an appropriate balance between:

◾facilitating the cross-border provision of financial services on the basis of substituted compliance; and
◾ensuring ASIC can adequately supervise these foreign entities in our markets.

Please contact HDY if you have any queries, or would like assistance in understanding the relief.