XN000022-1996-11-27 — Page 4

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Securities and Futures Commission Amendment Bill

The Securities and Futures Commission (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 1996, which seeks to provide statutory protection to auditors of listed companies, will be published in the Gazette on Friday.

A Financial Services Branch spokesman today (Wednesday) said that the government would introduce legislation to extend to auditors of companies listed on the Stock Exchange statutory protection to enable them to report suspicions of fraud to the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (SEHK).

"Our aim is to introduce legislative amendment which mirrors the existing provisions in the law which offer statutory protection to auditors of companies in the regulated sectors to enable them to report reasonable suspicions to the authority."

He said that whereas auditors in the regulated sectors are required to report to the authorities under certain circumstances, the same requirement will not be applied to auditors of listed companies.

"Our proposal does not seek to impose any duty on auditors to make such reports, nor will it create any new power for the SFC, the SEHK or any other relevant authority, "he added.

The Bill will be introduced to Legislative Council on December 11, 1996.

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Activities to mark "Serving the Community Week"

Interested individuals are welcome to take part in a series of open days and exhibitions organised by the Home Affairs Department (HAD) to mark the "Serving the Community Week" from December 1 to 7.

A spokesman for HAD said the "Serving the Community Week" is initiated by the Efficiency Unit of the Government Secretariat with the aim of promoting the importance of delivering good quality civil service to the community.