THE HONGKONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, JULY 2, 1909.
4-(1.) The Registrar of Companies may subject to The Regis-
instruction from the Governor issue an annual trar of licence, available for the period of one year, to Companies
may license any company whose objects comprise the trans- companies to action of business outside the Colony, empower- keep local ing such company, if it is authorized so to do by registers. its regulations as originally framed or as altered by special resolution, to keep in any place in which it transacts business a register or registers of members: Provided that a company applying for such licence must satisfy the Registrar of Companies by a statutory declaration to be filed with him that a principal part of the business of the company is carried on at or near the place where if desires to keep such register.
Every such licence shall be valid only until the thirty-first day of December next following the date on which it is issued: Provided always that where the period between the date of the issue of a licence and the thirty-first day of December next following is less than a year a proportionate part only of the fee in sub-section (2) shall be charged."
3. Every licence heretofore issued under the Companies (Local Registers) Ordinance, 1907, since the 31st Decem- ber, 1908, shall expire on the 31st December, 1909, and a proportionate part of the fee paid for such licence shall be refunded to the licensee in respect of the period between the 31st December, 1939, and the date on which such licence would have expired if this amending Ordinance had not been passed.
4. Section 5 of the Companies (Local Registers) Ordin- Repeals ance, 1907, is hereby repealed and the following is sub- section 5 of stituted in place thereof :--
Ordinance No 16 of 1907.
"5. In any case where the Registrar of Companies Registrar of
may be satisfied by a statutory declaration to Companies be filed with him that it is inconvenient and may author-
ize dupli- unnecessary for a company, holding a licence cate regis- under section 1, to keep its register of members ters in at its registered office he may in writing certain cases, under his hand authorize such company to keep at such office a duplicate register or registers only; and from the date of such authorization the register of members kept at the head office of such company shall be deemed to be the register of members under the Principal Ordinance and the company shall be deemed to have complied with the provisions of the Principal Ordinance with regard to register of members if such register is duly kept under the provisions of the Prin- eipal Ordinance,"
Objects and Reas ins.
This Bill transfers the licensing of companies from the Governor-in-Conneil to the Registrar of Companies thereby avoiding the necessity for referring applications for licences to the Executive Council, and facilitating and expediting the issuing of such licences,
The licence is to be valid only until the 31st day of December next following the date on which it is issued. Provision is made for charging a proportionate part only of the annual fee chargeable on the issue of a licence where the period for which the licence will be valid is less than one year,
HENRY S. BERKELEY, Atorney General.
429
3