TNAG-1645-FCO40-2292-Company-law-reform-in-Hong-Kong-Companies-(Amendment)-(No.-2-1987 — Page 92

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Companies (Amendment) Bill which was published as a White Paper

for discussion in 1980 and again in the Companies (Amendment) Bill 1983;

nor was there any evidence of any objection by members of the public

subsequent to the enactment of the section in 1984.

6.7

We agree that Section 1570 should be retained but that it

would be desirable to keep the minimum age limit for all purposes

consistent, if possible, and accordingly we recommend that the age

limit in Section 1570 should be reduced to 18 years of age, provided

Government accepts the other recommendations in the Law Reform

Commission's Report.

6.8

Members also took the opportunity to consider the question

of a maximum age limit for directors. The British legislation does

contain such a limit, namely in Section 293 of the Companies Act 1985

(formerly Section 185 of the Companies Act 1948) which lays down a

limit of 70 years of age. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say

that it appears to lay down such a limit, because under one of the

subsections a person of 70 years or over can still be appointed as a

director by a general meeting of the shareholders of a company. When

this subject was considered by the Companies Law Revision Committee

in their Second Report, they said:

"Many public companies in Hong Kong are the creation of

individuals or families, and generally speaking neither the directors

nor the shareholders would wish that retirement should be forced upon

any director who had founded or built up, or had for decades been

associated with, the company. The same applies with even greater

force to private companies .... Any company which wishes to do so is

already free to set an age limit for its directors in its articles and

we do not see that there is anything substantial to be gained by the

adoption of the British sections

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