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Answer:
(a) According to the records of the Commissioner of Inland Revenue, who was the authority for approving retirement schemes prior to the commencement of Occupational Retirement Scheme Ordinance (ORSO), there were 13,400 occupational retirement schemes as at 31 March 1993. The number of schemes established between 31 March 1993 and the commencement date of ORSO on 15 October 1993 is not available. We believe, however, that the number would have been small.
(b) As at 15 October 1995, the deadline for filing applications for registration or exemption of existing occupational retirement schemes under ORSO, a total of 14,292 applications had been received. So far, 9,091 schemes have been registered while 209 granted exemption. We expect to complete processing of applications by the end of this year.
ORSO does not require employers or scheme administrators to disclose information on contribution, investment strategy or investment returns when they file their applications for registration. Such information will be available from the annual returns and the financial statements of registered schemes. As the returns are to be submitted within six months of the end of a scheme's financial year after it has been registered, very few annual returns are due. So far the Registrar of Occupational Retirement Schemes has received only 51 annual returns, including those from large corporations such as the Hospital Authority and the Mass Transit Railway. We believe that to project from this very small and disproportionate sample the ratios of contributions between employers and employees, investment strategies adopted and ratios of investments returns for registered schemes generally would provide a very distorted picture. We may expect a more representative picture by the latter part of 1996 when about half of the 14,292 schemes will have filed their annual returns with the Registrar.
End/Wednesday, October 25, 1995