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Hong KongThe HKSI Paper 1 syllabus: all nine topics and what each is worth
Paper 1 runs on syllabus version 3.5. It has nine topics spread over 66 second-level headings, examined by 60 multiple-choice questions in 90 minutes. HKSI publishes no weighting. On our own estimate, Topic 3 is the largest block at roughly 16 questions.
Nine topics. Sixty questions. Ninety minutes. The syllabus that governs the paper is version 3.5, so anything written against an older version is describing a slightly different exam. The document itself is a flat list of headings with no weighting attached, no indication of depth, and no worked examples, which is why most candidates open it once and then go looking for someone to tell them what actually matters.
- Syllabus version
- v3.5
- Topics
- 9
- Second-level headings
- 66
- Questions
- 60 multiple choice
- Time
- 90 minutes, so 1.5 minutes a question
- Pass mark
- 70%, which is 42 of 60
- Fee
- HKD 1800
- Weighting published by HKSI
- None
What each of the nine topics covers
The nine topics move roughly in the order a firm experiences regulation: who the regulators are, what law they operate under, the Ordinance itself, licensing, conduct, operations, then the markets and what can go wrong in them.
| Topic | What it covers | Our estimate of questions |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Regulatory overview | The four regulators and their perimeters, the SFC, HKEX, and the kinds of intermediary that exist | 5 |
| 2. Hong Kong law and the Companies Ordinance | Sources of law, the court hierarchy, company types, resolutions, directors, winding up | 2 |
| 3. Securities and Futures Ordinance | The whole of Cap. 571 by Part: licensing, client assets, conduct, supervision, discipline, compensation, misconduct | 16 |
| 4. Licensing, registration and subsidiary legislation | The four statuses, the thirteen regulated activities, capital, client money and securities, records, audit | 10 |
| 5. Business conduct and client relations | The SFC Code of Conduct and the sector codes that sit beside it | 6 |
| 6. Business operations and practices | Internal controls, anti-money laundering, electronic trading, data privacy | 6 |
| 7. Participating in the Hong Kong exchanges | Trading, clearing and settlement on SEHK and HKFE, options, futures, margin | 5 |
| 8. Accessing public capital | Listing rules, takeovers, authorised products | 5 |
| 9. Market misconduct and improper trading | The six forms of market misconduct, the consequences, enforcement | 5 |
The Institute publishes the syllabus but not the question split. We built the estimate by counting the second-level headings under each topic and scaling to 60. It is a study-time guide. Do not treat it as a fact about your paper.
Which topics actually decide whether you pass
Topics 3 and 4 are, on our estimate, more than 40% of the paper between them. They are also the two topics candidates leave until last, because both are dense with structure and neither rewards reading in the way that Topic 1 does. That ordering is backwards and it is the single most common reason a well-prepared-feeling candidate misses the pass mark by a few questions.
Here is the opinion, stated plainly. Topic 3 does not require you to know the Ordinance. It requires you to know which Part governs a given scenario, and then to stop. Candidates who try to learn the text of Cap. 571 lose weeks and score no better than candidates who learned the map in an afternoon and then drilled questions. Topic 4 is the opposite: it is number-heavy, it is thin on reasoning, and there is no way through it except memorising.
The concession: our split is an inference, not intelligence. If HKSI weights Topic 3 lower than the heading count suggests, we are wrong, and a candidate who followed our advice will have over-prepared one topic. We think the risk of that is smaller than the risk of walking in with no weighting at all, but you should know which it is.
How the exam samples 66 headings with 60 questions
Almost every heading is fair game. That is the uncomfortable arithmetic of this paper. With 60 items and 66 headings, the examiner cannot go deep on everything, so questions tend to sit at the level of a defined term, a threshold, a body, or a boundary between two regimes.
- Which body? Given a function, name the regulator or tribunal. Topic 1 and Topic 3 both do this.
- Which Part? Given a scenario, name the Part of the Ordinance that governs it.
- Which number? A threshold, a period, a count of officers. Concentrated in Topic 4.
- Which is not? Four plausible statements, one of which is false. Used heavily on lists such as the SFC's regulatory objectives.
A question built the way Paper 1 builds them
Which body grants a licence permitting an individual to carry on a regulated activity in Hong Kong?
- The HKSI Institute, on passing the Licensing Examination
- The Securities and Futures Commission
- The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong
- The Hong Kong Monetary Authority
What the syllabus will not tell you
Three things are missing from the document, and you should plan around all of them. There is no weighting. There is no statement of depth, so a heading of six words can mean a definition or a whole regime. And there is no reading list beyond the recommended study manual, which means the syllabus never tells you when to stop reading a Part.
Check which version you are studying before you buy anything. Providers are slow to update and a syllabus revision can quietly move a subtopic between topics.
A study order that follows the weighting
- Topic 1 first, in a single sitting. It is short, it is the vocabulary for everything else, and on our estimate it is worth about as much as Topic 9.
- Topic 3 second, but only the map of Parts. Do not read the Ordinance.
- Topic 4 third, and treat it as memorisation, not comprehension.
- Topics 5 and 6 together, because the Code of Conduct and the internal control guidelines describe the same firm from two angles.
- Topics 7, 8 and 9 last. They are concrete, they are the easiest to hold in your head, and they benefit from being fresh.
- Topic 2 whenever you have a spare hour. It is the smallest topic on the paper and it does not repay a full study session.
If you want the same argument with timings attached, we set out a topic-by-topic time allocation for Paper 1 separately. And if you are unsure whether the material you already own is written against v3.5, check which syllabus version applies to your sitting.
Common questions
How many topics are in the HKSI Paper 1 syllabus?
Nine, under syllabus version 3.5 which took effect on 1 January 2026. They run from the regulatory overview in Topic 1 through to market misconduct in Topic 9, and between them they contain 66 second-level headings. All nine are examinable in the same 60-question paper.
Does HKSI publish how many questions come from each topic?
No. The Institute publishes the syllabus and the pass rates, but not the question split by topic. Any weighting you see online, including ours, is an estimate. We derive ours by counting second-level headings under each topic and scaling to 60 questions, and we label it on every page that uses it.
Which HKSI Paper 1 topic is the hardest?
Topic 3, the Securities and Futures Ordinance, is the largest and the one candidates report struggling with. Topic 4 is arguably harder to score on, because it turns on memorised thresholds rather than reasoning. Neither is conceptually difficult. Both are dense, and density is what runs the clock down.
Do I need to read the Securities and Futures Ordinance itself?
No. The paper tests navigation, not text. You need to know which Part of the Ordinance governs a given situation, what that Part is called, and what it broadly does. Reading Cap. 571 end to end is a poor use of study time, though the e-Legislation site is worth a visit to see the structure.
How long is the Paper 1 syllabus valid for?
Version 3.5 has been. HKSI revises the syllabus periodically and publishes the version number and effective date on the syllabus PDF itself. Check the version on the front page of whatever document your study provider is working from before you rely on it.