XN000022-1973-01-08 — Page 6

5

Monday, January 8, 1973

Apart from the incorporation of new companies, the work of the

Companies Registry in 1972 also increased in other respects.

A total of 106 companies were converted from private to public

companies in 1972, compared with 14 in 1971.

In the post-war years prior to 1971 very few companies issued

prospectuses,

Offers of shares to the public only became common in Hong Kong

in 1971, and in that year about 15 prospectuses were registered.

In 1972 the number of prospectuses registered rose to 101, 93 by

local companies and eight by companies incorporated overseas.

Documents received for filing during the year totalled 67,632,

or 18 per cent more than in 1971, and the number of company files inspected

by the public rose by 23 per cent to 68,726.

The revenue collected during the year reached $33 million, which

was $21.2 million or 179 per cent, above the previous year's $11.8 million.

At the end of the year, there were 26,067 companies on the Register,

compared with 21,622 at the end of 1971. In addition, there were 832

foreign companies registered, as against 763 previously.

/6