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Following are the main points of remarks made by the Secretary for Financial Services, Mr Stephen Ip, on Mass Transit Railway Initial Public Offering (MTR IPO) at the LegCo Financial Affairs Panel today (November 6):

"We are deeply concerned about the duplicate share certificate incident in relation to the MTR IPO. I welcome the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC)'s proposal to review whether the current self-regulatory system of share registrars should be refined in order to strengthen their regulation. The SFC's proposal for devising a code of standards is a feasible option. SFC will need to consult the market and relevant parties in devising the code, and ensure compliance by share registrars such as by regular reporting for monitoring purposes. I understand that the Central Registration Hong Kong Limited is conducting a review and devising a number of measures to improve its internal operation. I hope that these measures will be implemented as soon as possible.

The development of a scripless market is a long-term solution. The Steering Committee on the Enhancement of the Financial Infrastructure chaired by the SFC Chairman will be reconvened soon to map out detailed timetables and steps required for implementing the various recommendations."

End/Monday, November 6, 2000

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