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The Standing Committee on Company Law Reform (SCCLR) today (December 5) published its 2007-08 annual report.
During the reporting period, the SCCLR continued to focus its work on the rewrite of the Companies Ordinance and considered the recommendations of four dedicated advisory groups established to advise on specific topics of the rewrite. The major topics considered by the SCCLR included the following:
* the guiding principles for the rewrite;
* incorporation of companies;
* share capital and debentures;
* directors and officers;
* company administration and procedures;
* charges;
* arrangements, reconstructions and takeovers;
* inspection and investigation of companies;
* functions of the Registrar of Companies; and
* offences and punishment.
：SCCLR・s recommendations on the Companies Bill will be incorporated into a draft bill for further public consultation around mid-2009, with a view to introducing the Companies Bill into the Legislative Council tentatively by the third quarter of 2010,； a government spokesman said.
As part of the Administration・s efforts to engage the public in the rewrite exercise, a series of public consultations on a number of complex issues of the ordinance have been launched since 2007.
：We completed the first topical consultation on the accounting and auditing provisions of the Companies Ordinance in the second quarter of 2007 and published the consultation conclusions in March 2008. The second public consultation on company names, directors・ duties, corporate directorship and registration of charges was completed in June and we plan to publish the consultation conclusions soon within December. The third and last consultation on share capital, the capital maintenance regime and statutory amalgamation procedure ended in September and we aim to publish the consultation conclusions by early 2009,； the spokesman said.
：SCCLR has also considered the feedback from the public on the topical consultations and their views have been incorporated in the consultation conclusions.
：We appreciate and thank the SCCLR for all its work. We will continue to rely heavily on the expertise and advice of its members in the rewrite of the Companies Ordinance.；
The SCCLR was formed in 1984 to advise the Financial Secretary on necessary amendments to the ordinance and other relevant legislation, in order to ensure that such legislation continues to meet the needs of the business community.
The membership of the SCCLR is drawn from a wide spectrum of sectors, including lawyers, accountants, company secretaries, businessmen, academics and representatives of Government departments and regulatory bodies.
The SCCLR・s annual report for 2007-08 is available to the public at the websites of the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (http://www.fstb.gov.hk/fsb) and the Companies Registry (http://www.cr.gov.hk/).
Ends/Friday, December 5, 2008
Issued at HKT 16:30
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