General Course Information
1.1 Course details
| Course code: | LLAW6093 / JDOC6093 (Class B) |
| Course name: | Regulation of Financial Markets |
| Programme offered under: | LLM Programme / JD Programme |
| Semester: | First |
| Prerequisites / Co-requisites: | No |
| Credit point value: | 9 credits / 6 credits |
| Remarks: | Students of LLM(CR) are not allowed to take this course. |
1.2 Course description
Designed for students considering or planning to work in the financial sector, this is an overview perspective course, for LLM (full-time) students without financial background. Specifically, the course will examine, from legal and policy perspectives, the fundamentals respecting regulation of the primary financial intermediaries and markets: i.e., money and banking, investment banking, and asset management and insurance. Emphasis will be on the on-going phenomenon of globalisation and interdependence/interconnection of financial markets and intermediaries, and the need for economies to develop viable and robust financial markets, with a particular focus on the global financial crisis (GFC) of 2007-2008 and the post-GFC legislative/regulatory developments. Use of international, comparative (especially China, US and UK) and interdisciplinary materials will be made.
1.3 Course teachers
| Name | E-mail address | Office | Consultation | |
| Course convenor | Emily Lee | eleelaw@hku.hk | CCT 613 | By email |
1.4 Course outline (for elective course)
| Please click the link here for the course outline (HKU Portal login required). |
Learning Outcomes
2.1 Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) for this course
CLO 1 Analyse global banking systems through the lens of the 2007-2008 global financial crisis and the regulatory role of the Basel Committee: Critically evaluate how a credit crisis, initially triggered by Bear Stearns’ 2007 default on subprime mortgage bond payments and confined to U.S. investment banking sectors, escalated into a global financial collapse, exposing systemic vulnerabilities and necessitating revisions to the Basel II framework by the Basel Committee.
CLO 2 Assess domestic and international regulatory frameworks and supervisory standards that ensure stability in banking, securities, and insurance sectors: Equip students to critically evaluate how domestic and global frameworks safeguard the soundness, resilience, and operational integrity of financial intermediaries and markets across these sectors.
CLO 3 Compare and contrast financial market structures:
(i) money versus capital markets
(ii) primary versus secondary markets
CLO 4 Analyse the role of financial markets: Develop students’ ability to critically assess how and why these markets facilitate corporate finance and investment management.
CLO 5 Apply international regulatory standards and supervisory frameworks to evaluate the effectiveness of local regulations: Guide students in using international frameworks—such as Basel III and the IAIS Insurance Core Principles and Common Framework—to assess how effectively Hong Kong’s legislative and supervisory frameworks govern and monitor financial markets and transactions through designated regulatory authorities.
CLO 6 Assess the impact of global regulatory harmonisation: Evaluate how convergence in international banking and securities law affects enhanced customer/investor protection, market efficiency, and systemic stability.
2.2 LLM and JD Programme Learning Outcomes (PLOs)
Please refer to the following link:
LLM – https://course.law.hku.hk/llm-plo/
JD – https://course.law.hku.hk/jd-plo/
2.3 Programme Learning Outcomes to be achieved in this course
| PLO A | PLO B | PLO C | PLO D | PLO E | PLO F | |
| CLO 1 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 2 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 3 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 4 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 5 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 6 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Assessment(s)
3.1 Assessment Summary
| Assessment task | Weighting | Feedback method* | Course learning outcomes |
| In-class group presentation | 10% | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 | |
| Written submission | 20% | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 | |
| Take home exam | 70% | 1 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 |
| *Feedback method (to be determined by course teacher) | |
| 1 | A general course report to be disseminated through Moodle |
| 2 | Individual feedback to be disseminated by email / through Moodle |
| 3 | Individual review meeting upon appointment |
| 4 | Group review meeting |
| 5 | In-class verbal feedback |
3.2 Assessment Detail
To be advised by course convenor(s).
3.3 Grading Criteria
Please refer to the following link: https://www.law.hku.hk/_files/law_programme_grade_descriptors.pdf
Learning Activities
4.1 Learning Activity Plan
| Seminar: | 3 hours / week for 12 teaching weeks |
| Private study time: | 9.5 hours / week for 12 teaching weeks |
Remarks: the normative student study load per credit unit is 25 ± 5 hours (ie. 150 ± 30 hours for a 6-credit course), which includes all learning activities and experiences within and outside of classroom, and any assessment task and examinations and associated preparations.
4.2 Details of Learning Activities
To be advised by course convenor(s). See also Course Outline above.
Learning Resources
5.1 Resources
| Reading materials: | There is no single required text for the course. Instead, distributed materials will be made available via Moodle each week. Note that hard copies will not be distributed. |
| Core reading list: | Not applicable |
| Recommended reading list: | TBA |
5.2 Links
Please refer to the following link: http://www.law.hku.hk/course/learning-resources/