HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL —— 2 November 1988
香港立法局—————— 一九八八年十一月二日
Second Reading of Bills
COMPANIES (AMENDMENT) (NO. 3) BILL 1988
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THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY moved the Second Reading of: 'A bill to amend the Companies Ordinance'.
He said: Sir, I move that the Companies (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 1988 be read the Second time.
The purpose of this Bill is to introduce a number of miscellaneous amendments to the Companies Ordinance to provide for the better administration of company law in Hong Kong. These amendments reflect recommendations made by the Standing Committee on Company Law Reform, the Insurance Advisory Committee, the Law Reform Commission and by the Registrar General. The opportunity has also been taken to correct minor textual errors in the Ordinance and to deal with some procedural matters.
The main provisions of the Bill that I would like to highlight deal with prospectuses, the age limit for company directors, preferential payments in insurance company liquidations and the filing of annual returns.
Illustrations in prospectuses:
Section 38D of the Ordinance provides that no company may issue a prospectus containing any photographs or illustrations of a pictorial or graphic nature. This provision, however, does not apply to foreign companies and there is no similar provision in the British legislation. Nowadays, the use of graphics can help to make prospectuses more comprehensible, particularly when the company is involved in advanced technology. We consider that this prohibition should now be lifted and clause 4 of the Bill seeks to amend section 38D accordingly.
Minimum age for company directors:
Under section 157C of the Ordinance, the minimum age for appointment as a director of a company is 21. Clause 5 seeks to amend section 157C to lower the minimum age to 18, in line with the Law Reform Commission's recommendation in its Report entitled "Young Persons - effects of age in civil law". Youth will have its day.
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.