The survey of 345 finance professionals, released on Tuesday, concluded that the SFC was regarded as 'one of the best securities regulators in Asia', and as 'approachable, professional, fair and easy to deal with'. More than 75% of those questioned believed that it had impacted positively on the jurisdiction's markets.

However, over half of respondents admitted that they do not have a clear understanding of what it is the SFC actually does, something which Alexa Lam, the Executive Director of Intermediaries and Investment Products at the SFC, finds perfectly understandable.

'This [is] mainly because many stakeholders deal or liaise with us on a limited, often infrequent basis,' she explained to the South China Morning Post, adding that fund managers tend only to deal with the product development division, listed companies with the corporate finance department, and so on.

However, Ms Lam revealed that overall, lawyers and accountants who have to deal with the regulatory authorities on behalf of a wide range of clients, have a better understanding of the workings of the whole of the Securities and Futures Commission.