Do draconian measures prevent insider trading?

A new proposal by the government of the Hong Kong Special Administration Region gives financial market regulators more power over companies that are tardy about releasing market sensitive information.

The objective is to tighten the net to tackle inside trading and stop investment decisions made on the basis of incomplete information. Disclosure is to be made "as soon as practicable" and failure to disclosure is a breach of the law rather than a breach of an agreement with the stock exchange. However companies are not obliged to respond to market rumors.

These proposed changes do not go as far as the continuous disclosure rules that apply in some markets.