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A total of 95,408 local companies were newly incorporated under the Companies Ordinance in the first half of 2014, an increase of 7.16 per cent when compared to 89,035 in the second half of 2013, according to the statistics released by the Companies Registry today (July 13).
"The number of newly registered local companies hit a record high in the first six months of this year, with 21,978 companies incorporated online through our e-Registry (www.eregistry.gov.hk)," said the Registrar of Companies, Ms Ada Chung.
By the end of June 2014, the total number of live local companies registered was 1,233,780, up 70,849 from 1,162,931 as at the end of 2013.
On the new Companies Ordinance which commenced operation on March 3 this year, Ms Chung said, "The new Companies Ordinance provides a modernised legal framework for the incorporation and operation of companies in Hong Kong. It has four major objectives, namely enhancing corporate governance, facilitating business, ensuring better regulation and modernising the law, with a view to strengthening Hong Kong's position as an international business and financial centre."
The Companies Registry has conducted or participated in more than 70 seminars to enhance public awareness of the major changes brought about by the new ordinance. The Registry's website (www.cr.gov.hk) has a dedicated thematic section which contains a series of external circulars issued for the implementation of the new ordinance, briefing materials, highlights of key changes and answers to frequently asked questions.
"We are pleased that our efforts to promote the new ordinance have been well received by the business community and members of the public," Ms Chung said.
For non-Hong Kong companies that have established a place of business in Hong Kong, 393 companies were newly registered under the Companies Ordinance in the first half of 2014, down 8.18 per cent from 428 in the second half of 2013. The total number of registered non-Hong Kong companies reached 9,432 by the end of June 2014.
The number of charges on assets of companies received for registration in the first half of this year was 11,133, 13.92 per cent down from 12,934 in the second half of 2013. The number of memoranda of satisfaction and release and notifications of payment/satisfaction of debt received for registration in the first half of this year decreased by 5.90 per cent to 9,900 compared to 10,521 in the second half of 2013.
The number of documents delivered for registration during the first six months of 2014 increased by 5.20 per cent to 1,310,965, compared to 1,246,213 in the second half of 2013.
A total of 1,801,336 searches of document image records were conducted through the Registry's electronic search services in the first half of 2014, an increase of 2 per cent when compared to the figure of 1,766,006 in the second half of 2013.
For details of the half-yearly statistics, please visit the "Statistics" section of the Registry's website.
Ends/Sunday, July 13, 2014
Issued at HKT 11:00
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