TNAG-1771-FCO40-25241-Business-and-financial-legislation-in-Hong-Kong.-Part-1-of-2-1988 — Page 159

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MONEY LENDERS (AMENDMENT) BILL 1988

However, new section 10(3) provides that if a person is granted leave under ection 11(2)(b)(ii) of the principal Ordinance to object to an application, and the licensing court is constituted by a magistrate sitting alone, then the court must adjourn the hearing to another date to be heard by a licensing court constituted by a magistrate sitting with 2 assessors.

11. New section 10A replaces section 10(5) of the principal Ordinance. New section 10B specifies the powers of the licensing court. New section 10C provides that the licensing court and persons appearing before it shall have the same immunities and privileges as they would have before a court in civil proceedings.

12. Clause 11 repeals section 12 of the principal Ordinance and inserts a new section 12. New section 12(b) provides that a renewal of a licence shall take effect from the day on which it would have expired but for section 13(5) of the principal Ordinance. This is to ensure that no licence is in force for a period of more than 12 months, because section 13(5) of the principal Ordinance provides that an expired licence shall remain in force where an application for its renewal has been made, but not determined, before that expiration.

13. Clause 13(b) and (c) amends section 15 of the principal Ordinance to insert provisions which ensure that applications to the licensing court under that section are processed in the same manner as applications to the licensing court under section 9 of the principal Ordinance.

14. Clause 13(d) amends section 15 of the principal Ordinance to insert a new subsection (10). The new subsection provides (similarly to the amended section 10 of the principal Ordinance) that the licensing court may dispense with assessors in certain circumstances.

15. Clause 14(a) amends section 17(1) of the principal Ordinance to provide that a licensed money lender must notify the Registrar of any change of name by law.

16. Clause 16(1)(b) and (e) and (2) amends section 19 of the principal Ordinance to provide that the statement of particulars of a loan agreement required to be given under that section to a borrower or other person nominated by the borrower shall consist of an original and a copy. The borrower or other person is required to endorse the copy and return it to the money lender. The money lender is required to retain that copy during the continuance of the loan agreement to which the statement relates.

17. Clauses 18 and 19 respectively amend sections 22 and 23 of the principal Ordinance to insert provisions equivalent to section 18(3) of the principal Ordinance. Thus the court now has a discretion, where it is satisfied in all the circumstances that it is equitable to do so, to declare an otherwise unenforceable agreement to be enforceable (in the case of amend- ed section 22), or to declare that an unlicensed money lender may recover money or interest under a loan or enforce an agreement or security in respect of a loan (in the case of amended section 23).

18. Clause 20 deletes subsection (5) of section 24 of the principal Ordinance and inserts a new subsection (5). The new subsection provides that section 24 of the principal Ordinance (which is the prohibition against excessive interest rates) shall not apply to certain loans specified in Part 2 of Schedule 1 to the principal Ordinance or, in respect of such loan, to any person who makes such loan.

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