ENG-1990 — Page 135

106

INDUSTRY AND TRADE

were received and 457 licences were granted. At the end of 1990, there were 474 licensed money lenders.

The ordinance provides severe penalties for a number of statutory offences, such as carrying on an unlicensed money-lending business. It also provides that any loan made by an unlicensed money lender shall not be recoverable by court action. With certain exceptions (primarily authorised institutions under the Banking Ordinance), any person, whether a licensed money lender or not, who lends or offers to lend money at an interest rate exceeding 60 per cent per annum commits an offence. Agreement for the repayment of any such loan or any security given in respect of such loan shall be unenforceable.

Bankruptcies and Compulsory Winding-up

The Official Receiver's Office of the Registrar General's Department administers estates of personal bankrupts and companies ordered to be compulsorily wound up by the Court.

Once a Receiving Order is made against the property of a personal bankrupt, or a Winding-Up Order by the court is made against a company, the Registrar General, who is also the Official Receiver, becomes the interim receiver or provisional liquidator respectively. In estates where the assets are less than $200,000, the Official Receiver applies to the court for a summary procedure order and is appointed as trustee or liquidator. In other cases a meeting of creditors in bankruptcy, or of creditors and contributories in compulsory liquidations, is held to decide whether the Official Receiver or another person from the private sector be appointed as trustee or liquidator. As in the past years, the Official Receiver was appointed trustee or liquidator in most cases.

During the year the court made 209 Receiving Orders and 286 Winding-Up Orders, which is an increase of 47.7 per cent over the previous year. The assets realised by the Official Receiver during 1990 amounted to $212.6 million and $54.8 million dividends were paid to creditors in 253 insolvency cases.

Official Trustee, Judicial Trustee and Official Solicitor

The Registrar General also exercises the powers and performs the duties conferred or imposed upon the Official Trustee, the Judicial Trustee and the Official Solicitor. At the end of the year, the total funds administered by the Official Trustee under 13 trusts amounted to $1.2 million. The Official Solicitor agreed to act in nine cases.

It has now been decided that these functions of the Registrar General would more appropriately be transferred to the Legal Aid Department. Preparation of necessary legislative amendments to effect this transfer has already begun. The transfer should take place in 1991.

Page 135Page 136