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Friday, March 2, 1973
"The several ordinances seek in differing degrees to establish procedures
for the submission of financial statements whereby a check can be kept on the
financial viability of the companies. Provision is made in some cases for the
appointment if inspectors, and for the methods of applying for companies to
be wound up. The circumstances in which companies may be struck off the
register are also specified in some, while others allow authorisation to
transact insurance businesss to be withdrawn by notice in the Gazette.
Penalties
for contravening the provisions of the various ordinances are laid down in the
various ordinances, but these differ as between similar infringements. In short,
therefore, there is little uniformity of approach to the requirements that should
be met for insurance business to operate on a coherent and sound footing in
Hong Kong.
"In formulating comprehensive legislation covering the field of
insurance as a whole, other countries have often found it best to deal with
life business separately from general business because of the basic difference
between the two. However, Britain has been moving in the direction of a compact,
but all embracing measure to cover all insurance and a new bill has recently been
published which seeks to do just this. In Hong Kong 'there would appear to be a
general wish for the content of insurance legislation to accord with the principles
that have been adopted in British legislation, especially between the years 1958
and 1967.
"The proposed