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The number of local companies newly registered with the Companies Registry in 2013 hit a record high of 174,031, up from 150,165 in 2012, according to the statistics released by the Companies Registry today (January 12).
"By the end of 2013, the total number of live local companies registered under the Companies Ordinance reached 1,162,931, up 118,287 from 1,044,644 in 2012,"said the Registrar of Companies, Ms Ada Chung.
In 2013, 35,976 companies were incorporated online using the electronic company incorporation service at the e-Registry (www.eregistry.gov.hk), a steady increase of 31.69 per cent when compared to 2012.
"Electronic incorporation service facilitates the starting of a business in Hong Kong by shortening processing time significantly to less than an hour. We will continue with our efforts in fulfilling the needs of the business communities on this front," she added.
On the new Companies Ordinance, Ms Chung said,"The new Ordinance will commence operation on March 3 this year to achieve four major objectives, namely enhancing corporate governance, ensuring better regulation, facilitating business and modernising the law."
In the run-up to its implementation, the Companies Registry is conducting a publicity campaign to enhance relevant stakeholders' awareness of the major changes in requirements. In this regard, the Companies Registry has set up a dedicated thematic section on its website (www.cr.gov.hk) to make available briefing materials and answers to Frequently Asked Questions. In addition, circular letters are being sent to all local companies on the commencement of the new Ordinance. The Registry has also organised a series of briefing sessions on various aspects of the new Ordinance.
For non-Hong Kong companies that have newly established a place of business in Hong Kong, 780 companies were registered under Part XI of the Companies Ordinance in 2013, an increase of 13.7 per cent from 686 in 2012. The total number of registered non-Hong Kong companies reached 9,258 by the end of 2013.
The number of charges on assets of companies received for registration in 2013 was 29,631, a decrease of 4.85 per cent from 31,141 in 2012. The number of memoranda of satisfaction and releases received for registration increased by 3 per cent, from 22,692 in 2012 to 23,372 in 2013.
In 2013, a total of 161 prospectuses were registered, an increase from 127 in 2012.
In addition, the total number of documents received for filing last year increased by 10.45 per cent, from 2,217,716 to 2,449,376.
A total of 3,537,044 searches of document image records were conducted through the Registry's electronic search services in 2013, an increase of 1.16 per cent from 3,496,327 in 2012.
The total number of summonses issued by the Registrar of Companies last year against companies for breaches of the Companies Ordinance, mainly for failure to file annual returns, was 6,313, slightly down from 6,624 in 2012.
For details of the statistics, please visit the "Statistics" section of the Registry's website (www.cr.gov.hk).
Ends/Sunday, January 12, 2014
Issued at HKT 11:00
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