Title: Conditions for having a Controlling Share (dated
18.3.1988)
Author: TONG Yuk-hon
The first Television Ordinance was enacted in
1964. The original Bill provided that "not less than 60%
of the voting shares (of a television company) shall be
beneficially owned by British nationals ordinarily
resident in Hong Kong". After deleting this provision,
the Bill was passed after the third reading. However, the
Ordinance contains the following provisions:
the majority of the Directors shall be British
nationals ordinarily resident in Hong Kong; and
the
principal officers, including those
responsible for selecting programmes, shall be
British nationals ordinarily resident in Hong
Kong.
2.
fact that
the Despite
Ordinance had
amended several times in the past, the above two
provisions have been retained. If the majority of the
the
been
Directors
of
a
company
were British
nationals,
the
majority of the shares would likely be held by British
nationals.