XN000022-1972-11-01 — Page 3

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Wednesday, November 1, 1972

He continued:

"Hong Kong's financial sector is essentially healthy,

buoyed up as it is by the strength of our economy as a whole and the confidence

it engenders in local and overseas investors.

"But the process of growth, particularly rapid growth, brings in its

train its own problems and we are starting this afternoon on a programme designed

to bring more order and efficiency into the conduct of trading in securities of

all kinds, thereby providing greater protection for the interests of the investing

public."

:

Mr. Haddon-Cave said the present Companies Ordinance is based largely

on the United Kingdom Companies Act of 1929.

The amending Bill, he said, includes most of the provisions or recommend-

ations on prospectuses contained in the 1948 Companies Act and the Jenkins

Committee Report, "together with a number of points which we have added ourselves

as a result of our own experience."

The main features of the Bill include the following provisions:-

The existing definition of "prospectus" will be extended to include documents which do not actually offer shares or debentures but are calculated to invite offers from the public.

Every prospectus is to be in English, and is to contain a Chinese translation, and it should include the information specified in the Third Schedule.

Prospectuses will have to contain a notice advising potential investors, if they are in any doubt, to consult a professional adviser.

The publication of an abridged prospectus will be prohibited, but this provision is not intended to place restrictions on Press comments on a prospectus and the use of extracts provided these are not in the nature of advertisements.

It will be.