Standing Committee on Company Law Reform publishes Annual
Report
********************************************************** The Standing Committee on Company Law Reform (SCCLR) today (October 28) published its 2004-05 Annual Report.
¡§The SCCLR continues to provide the Government with valuable advice on various proposals relating to company law and securities matters,¡¨ a government spokesman said.
Following are major issues discussed by the SCCLR during the year -
* Review of the offences and punishment provisions of the Companies Ordinance (CO);
* Statutory derivative action in the Companies (Amendment) Bill 2003;
* Overall review of the CO;
* Consultation study concerning the implications of adopting a no-par value share regime in Hong Kong;
* Draft drafting instructions (DDIs) in relation to proposals made by the SCCLR in Phase II of the Corporate Governance Review;
* DDIs in respect of accounting provisions in the CO and mock-up of the proposed accounting provisions prepared by the Joint Government/Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants Working Group (JWG);
* DDIs in respect of auditing provisions in the CO and mock-up of the proposed auditing provisions prepared by the JWG;
* Consultation paper on the proposed amendments to the Securities and Futures Ordinance to give statutory backing to major listing requirements;
* Consultation paper on the proposed amendments to the Securities and Futures (Stock Market Listing) Rules; and
* The recommendations of the JWG to give statutory recognition to accounting standards upon the removal of the Tenth Schedule of the CO.
¡§The necessary amendments to the CO will be followed up in the context of the rewrite of the Ordinance. We are now working on the institutional framework, modus operandi and resource requirements of the exercise,¡¨ the spokesman added.
Other recommendations made by the SCCLR during the year are being followed up. These include a bill planned to be introduced into the Legislative Council in March, 2006, to implement the proposal to give statutory backing to important listing requirements.
The SCCLR was formed in 1984 to advise the Financial Secretary on necessary amendments to the relevant legislation such as the CO, in order to ensure that Hong Kong's company law 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, and representatives of Government departments and regulatory bodies.
People may download the report from the Companies Registry's website at http://www.info.gov.hk/cr.
Report
********************************************************** The Standing Committee on Company Law Reform (SCCLR) today (October 28) published its 2004-05 Annual Report.
¡§The SCCLR continues to provide the Government with valuable advice on various proposals relating to company law and securities matters,¡¨ a government spokesman said.
Following are major issues discussed by the SCCLR during the year -
* Review of the offences and punishment provisions of the Companies Ordinance (CO);
* Statutory derivative action in the Companies (Amendment) Bill 2003;
* Overall review of the CO;
* Consultation study concerning the implications of adopting a no-par value share regime in Hong Kong;
* Draft drafting instructions (DDIs) in relation to proposals made by the SCCLR in Phase II of the Corporate Governance Review;
* DDIs in respect of accounting provisions in the CO and mock-up of the proposed accounting provisions prepared by the Joint Government/Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants Working Group (JWG);
* DDIs in respect of auditing provisions in the CO and mock-up of the proposed auditing provisions prepared by the JWG;
* Consultation paper on the proposed amendments to the Securities and Futures Ordinance to give statutory backing to major listing requirements;
* Consultation paper on the proposed amendments to the Securities and Futures (Stock Market Listing) Rules; and
* The recommendations of the JWG to give statutory recognition to accounting standards upon the removal of the Tenth Schedule of the CO.
¡§The necessary amendments to the CO will be followed up in the context of the rewrite of the Ordinance. We are now working on the institutional framework, modus operandi and resource requirements of the exercise,¡¨ the spokesman added.
Other recommendations made by the SCCLR during the year are being followed up. These include a bill planned to be introduced into the Legislative Council in March, 2006, to implement the proposal to give statutory backing to important listing requirements.
The SCCLR was formed in 1984 to advise the Financial Secretary on necessary amendments to the relevant legislation such as the CO, in order to ensure that Hong Kong's company law 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, and representatives of Government departments and regulatory bodies.
People may download the report from the Companies Registry's website at http://www.info.gov.hk/cr.
Ends/Friday, October 28, 2005
Issued at HKT 18:12
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