16
Article 17
1.
The encouragement of thrift and the operation of saving schemes are amongst the objectives of many co-operative societies and credit unions established under the Co-operative Societies Ordinance and the Credit Unions Ordinance
Ordinance respectively. These co-operative societies and credit unions are supervised by the Registrar of Co-operative Societies and Registrar of Credit Unions,
As at 30 June 1990, there were 52 fishermen's co-operative societies, 54 farmers' societies and two salaried workers' societies with the objective of encouraging members to practice thrift and granting loans to members.
The Credit Unions Ordinance came into operation in February 1970. Since then, 66 credit unions have been registered with a total membership of 38 000 as at 30 June 1990.
In industry, few employers encourage the formation of thrift societies
their workers. However, workers normally have their own saving plans by utilising the various saving facilities such as banks and insurance companies. The provisions of provident funds, pension schemes, gratuities and other retirement benefits will also, to a certain extent, meet the saving needs of workers.
The government does not provide savings facilities, but there has been a remarkable development in commercial bank savings in recent years, stimulated by the banks themselves.
The Money Lenders Ordinance and the Pawnbrokers Ordinance regulate, inter alia, the rates of interest in money-lending transactions. The Money
Money Lenders Ordinance introduces a system of licensing of money lenders by special licensing courts and provides for fines and
and imprisonment on conviction for unlicensed money lending. The Commissioner of Police, the Registrar of Money Lenders and any interested member of the public can object to any application for a licence or a renewal of an existing licence. Under section 24 of the ordinance, it is an offence to lend or to offer to lend money at an effective rate of interest exceeding 60 per cent per annum and no agreement for the repayment of any loan shall be enforceable in any case in which the effective rate of interest exceeds 60 per cent per annum. Under section 25 of the ordinance, where proceedings are taken in any court for the recovery of a loan and there is evidence that the terms of the loan are extortionate, the court can reopen the transaction so as to be fair to both parties and, for that purpose, make such orders and give such directions as it may think fit. For the purposes of section 25, a rate of interest exceeding 48 per cent per annum is presumed to make a transaction extortionate, unless the court is satisfied, having regard to all the circumstances of the agreement, that such rate is not unreasonable or unfair. Section 18 provides that every borrower must sign a written note or memorandum setting out the terms of the loan and that he must be supplied with a copy of such note or memorandum together with a summary of certain relevant provisions in the ordinance. A number of organisations, such as licensed banks and registered credit unions, are exempt from some of the
the provisions of the ordinance. Section 11 of the Pawnbrokers Ordinance provides that a pawnbroker may in no case demand compound interest and that the maximum rate of simple interest for all loans should not exceed 3.5 per
cent per month. Vigilance is exercised by the Royal Hong Kong Police Force to prevent abuses by money lenders and pawnbrokers.