Jan 27, 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic has ripped a tornado-sized hole in most companies’ risk and crisis management systems. CSj talks to governance professionals about the lessons companies have learned, and need to learn, about worst case scenario planning. Since the start of 2020,...
Jan 27, 2021
Since her re-election as President of The Hong Kong Institute of Chartered Secretaries (the Institute) last month, Gillian Meller FCG FCS discusses the work of the Institute to prepare its members for their expanded roles as governance professionals. Could we start by...
Jan 27, 2021
This second and final part of the Champion Paper of the most recent Corporate Governance Paper Competition held by The Hong Kong Institute of Chartered Secretaries (the Institute) focuses on the latest environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting requirements...
Jan 27, 2021
CSj reviews a recent webinar promoting anti-money laundering/counter-financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) best practices for trust and company service providers. The leadership position of The Hong Kong Institute of Chartered Secretaries (the Institute/HKICS) in the...
Jan 27, 2021
What is your role as a governance professional? ‘My work is focused on board advisory and share registry functions. My advisory role includes advising directors and officers of listed companies on director duties and other regulatory requirements. I also advise...
Jan 27, 2021
What is your role as a governance professional? ‘In the capacity of a governance professional, I am currently involved in designing and implementing the anti-money laundering compliance framework. As part of the first line of defence, I played a role implementing the...
Jan 27, 2021
Crisis management Click the cover image below to view or download a pdf of the full...
Jan 20, 2020
This month, the Chartered Governance Qualifying Programme replaces the International Qualifying Scheme as The Hong Kong Institute of Chartered Secretaries qualifying programme. CSj looks at the significance of this important milestone in the ongoing evolution of the...
Jan 20, 2020
Ricky Chu Man-kin IDS, Chairperson of Hong Kong’s Equal Opportunities Commission, states the case for proactively implementing corporate anti–sexual harassment policies, not only for the benefit of all personnel as human beings, but also for the company’s bottom line....
Jan 20, 2020
Colum Bancroft, Managing Director, AlixPartners, argues that companies should prepare for the increasing compliance risks resulting from the ever-changing regulatory environment and economic downturn. Hong Kong’s economy is in recession and is entering a period of...
Jan 20, 2020
Andrew Carrick, Vice-President, Customer Success, Diligent, highlights the findings of a new global report assessing directors’ views on stakeholders and society. Recently, more than 180 CEOs in the Business Roundtable amended the association’s Statement on the...
Jan 20, 2020
CSj highlights the latest additions to the Institute’s guidance note series, providing members with new guidance on non-governmental organisations, anti–bribery and corruption, competition law, and mergers and acquisitions. The Institute’s seven Interest Groups, set...
Jan 20, 2020
Jason Yau, Partner, IT Consulting & Audit and Assurance, RSM Hong Kong, maps out a series of concrete measures to help combat cyber risk, charting a course of action for company secretaries to confront cybersecurity exposure and comply with regulatory...
Jan 20, 2020
Reimagining the company secretary Click the cover image below to view or download a pdf of the full...
Jan 11, 2019
AI technology hit the headlines in 2016 when AlphaGo beat the world’s top Go players. In fact, the technology has been around for some time, and, as Joseph Chu and Charlie Wang of Deloitte China explain, is fast becoming an essential part of workforces around the...
Jan 11, 2019
CSj looks at useful resources for governance professionals seeking to upgrade their compliance with Hong Kong’s Corporate Governance Code. Changes to Hong Kong’s Corporate Governance Code and related listing rules become effective this month, including tougher...
Jan 11, 2019
The fourth in a series of guidance notes produced by the Institute’s Public Governance Interest Group gives guidance on the continuing compliance obligations of not-for-profits under the Companies Ordinance. The Institute’s Interest Group guidance note project got...
Jan 11, 2019
Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal clarifies ‘innocent purpose’ defence to insider dealing. The Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal (CFA) has recently allowed the Securities and Futures Commission’s (SFC) appeal against the Market Misconduct Tribunal’s (MMT) findings that...
Jan 11, 2019
Meet your new colleague – Artificial intelligence Click the cover image below to view or download a pdf of the full...
Jan 16, 2018
Timothy Loh, Managing Partner; and Greg Heaton, Senior Consultant; Timothy Loh LLP, argue that the new front-loaded regulation adopted by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) signals an increasing level of oversight and intervention by the SFC in the regulation...
Jan 16, 2018
Low Chee Keong FCIS FCS, Associate Professor in Corporate Law, CUHK Business School, provides a concise overview of three inter-related questions, namely, what is corporate governance, why is it important and where may it go from here. Academic research suggests that...
Jan 16, 2018
Board evaluations have become an established part of board governance best practice around the world, but John Dinner, President, John T Dinner Board Governance Services, argues their ultimate value for organisations can be increased if an outcomes-based approach to...
Jan 16, 2018
Two new sets of anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) legislation are due to be enacted in Hong Kong by 1 March 2018. Mohan Datwani FCIS FCS(PE), Senior Director and Head of Technical & Research, The Hong Kong Institute of Chartered...
Jan 16, 2018
Tax ethics are once again in the public spotlight in the wake of the Paradise Papers revelations. Kelly Cooper, Project Manager, CSR Asia, makes the case for companies to create value both for themselves and the communities within which they operate by responsible and...
Jan 16, 2018
Bryane Michael, Senior Fellow, Asian Institute for International Financial Law (AIIFL), Faculty of Law, The University of Hong Kong, looks at the implications for corporate service providers (CSPs) of the tougher regulatory requirements imposed on CSPs in the post...
Jan 16, 2018
Listing regulation – New proposals for Hong Kong Click the cover image below to view or download a pdf of the full...
Jan 13, 2017
CSj looks at some best practice recommendations on board governance, their possible applications in the local business environment of Hong Kong and the company secretary’s role in boosting the effectiveness of boards. Board governance – how complicated can it...
Jan 13, 2017
Many corporate governance systems around the world have put increasing reliance on the role of the independent director, but what is it like to perform this role? What makes a good independent director? What is the relationship between the company secretary and...
Jan 13, 2017
Tony Wong, Founder and GRI Nominated Trainer, Alaya Consulting Ltd, argues that the new Global Reporting Initiative Sustainability Reporting Standards launched in October 2016 provide a user-friendly structure for Hong Kong companies of all sizes to start or continue...
Jan 13, 2017
A new HKICS guidance note seeks to bring some clarity to the complex due diligence required to successfully manage merger and acquisition transactions, and to highlight the role the company secretary can play in the process. Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are...
Jan 13, 2017
A dinner was held in Beijing in November 2016 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the establishment of The Hong Kong Institute of Chartered Secretaries (HKICS) Representative Office in Beijing. On behalf of HKICS Council, HKICS President Ivan Tam FCIS FCS, gave a...
Jan 13, 2017
Sherman Yan, Dominic Wai and Eutonia Chen, ONC Lawyers, give an overview of the dawn raid and investigative powers of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and Competition Commission (CC), and practical tips on...
Jan 13, 2017
Board building – Improving the effectiveness of your board Click the cover image below to view or download a pdf of the full...
Jan 11, 2016
Complex though they may be, Hong Kong’s connected transaction rules can be better understood if the basic principles behind the regulations are grasped. This month, CSj looks at the rationale behind the rules and at the role of the company secretary in ensuring...
Jan 11, 2016
Gabriela Kennedy and Karen Lee, Mayer Brown JSM, outline Hong Kong’s new regulatory regime for payment systems and stored value facilities. Mobile payments, digital wallets and contactless payments are easy and efficient methods for retail payment that are...
Jan 11, 2016
The winning paper in the Institute’s latest Corporate Governance Paper Competition argues that risk management is an essential part of a healthy corporate governance framework. In this second and final part of their article, the authors look at examples of best...
Jan 11, 2016
Mohan Datwani FCIS FCS (PE) Senior Director and Head of Technical & Research, HKICS, and Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist, looks at the background to two cases HKSAR v Salim Majed & Anor and HKSAR v Yeung Ka Sing, Carson, scheduled to be heard by...
Jan 11, 2016
A new Court of Final Appeal ruling casts new light on the enforcement of shareholders’ rights in respect of a non-Hong Kong company which does not have a place of business in Hong Kong. In a shareholders’ dispute involving the affairs of a non-Hong Kong company, a...
Jan 11, 2016
Seaman Kwok, Head, Corporate Secretarial, Boardroom Corporate Services (HK) Ltd, and Director, Boardroom Share Registrars (HK) Ltd, argues that more flexibility should be given to listed companies to use the most appropriate voting method for passing resolutions at...
Jan 11, 2016
Connected transactions – The compliance challenge Click the cover image below to view or download a pdf of the full...
Jan 5, 2015
Senior board secretaries assess the implications of regulatory reforms in the PRC, both for the work of board secretaries and for the integrity and efficiency of China’s capital markets. China’s capital markets have been developing very rapidly in recent...
Jan 5, 2015
In interview with CSj, the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ICSA) President Frank Bush FCIS discusses the new structure of ICSA Council and the organisation’s aspirations to become the leading global professional body in governance. ICSA...
Jan 5, 2015
CSj conducts an unofficial poll on the most hotly contested corporate governance issue in Hong Kong at the moment. A quarter of a century ago, the Hong Kong stock exchange came under pressure after three of the city’s most powerful conglomerates – Jardine...
Jan 5, 2015
In her keynote speech at this year’s ‘Asian Company Secretary of the Year’ awards, Edith Shih, Head Group General Counsel and Company Secretary at Hutchison Whampoa Ltd and HKICS Past President, highlighted the need for company secretaries to have...
Jan 5, 2015
The Institute’s corporate governance paper competition is run biennially in tandem with the Institute’s corporate governance conferences. This month, CSj publishes the second and final part of the winning paper in this year’s competition, in which...
Jan 5, 2015
Deregulation in the PRC. Click the cover image below to view or download a pdf of the full...
Jan 5, 2014
The new Companies Ordinance, which comes into force in March this year, has been billed as an attempt to simplify, rationalise and deregulate our company law wherever possible. While the new ordinance certainly brings in a number of measures to this effect, there is a...
Jan 5, 2014
What are the qualifying criteria for companies to prepare simplified financial statements and reports under the new Companies Ordinance? Under what circumstances may an AGM be dispensed with? These are some of the many questions posed by attendees at a recent HKICS...
Jan 5, 2014
As a result of rapid economic development in Mainland China, there is a huge demand for professional service providers. This is good news for professionals, company secretaries among them, particularly those based in Hong Kong. Lau Ping Cheung, Chairman of the Hong...
Jan 5, 2014
David Neuville and Joseph Lee, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP in association with Joseph PC Lee & Associates, assess the implications of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong decision to reject the proposal by the Alibaba Group to list in Hong Kong with a...
Jan 5, 2014
The Institute’s Corporate Governance Paper Competition is held annually to raise awareness of corporate governance issues among local undergraduates. This year’s competition was held on the theme ‘Corporate governance means more reports and...
Jan 5, 2014
Q: What are the key changes in the new Hong Kong Companies Ordinance (CO) effective 1 March 2014 regarding listed companies’ share registers? A: From a registry perspective, the following are the key changes brought about by the new CO: 1. Adoption of mandatory no...
Jan 5, 2014
The new Companies Ordinance – Are you ready? Click the cover image below to view or download a pdf of the full...
Jan 7, 2013
2012 was a momentous year for company secretaries in Hong Kong. In the wake of the dragon’s passing, CSj assesses the implications going forward of the major corporate governance reforms and professional developments of last year. One thing is very clear, all...
Jan 7, 2013
New legislation in Hong Kong introduces a statutory regime for the disclosure of price-sensitive information by companies listed in Hong Kong. The regime substantially expands the existing framework and imposes personal liability on officers of such companies,...
Jan 7, 2013
Hong Kong’s new Competition Ordinance was enacted in June last year and is expected to come into force late this year or early 2014. Mark Williams, Professor of Law, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, looks at the compliance implications of the Ordinance for...
Jan 7, 2013
The expectations of the company secretarial role are higher now than they have ever been, but are company secretaries ready to take up the challenge? CSj talks to Ben Mathews, FCIS, Company Secretary and Global Head of Secretarial Services, Rio Tinto, about how to get...
Jan 7, 2013
Governments, companies and communities cannot afford to be complacent in the fight against bribery and corruption, argues Mark Taylor FCIS FCS, Director, Boxall Barton Ltd A hymn to the Greek goddess Athena includes the words: ‘You bring folly to the corrupt and...
Jan 7, 2013
Q: My company is a listed company in Hong Kong and I would like to know whether we can use solely electronic means to communicate with shareholders? Since December 2010, Hong Kong incorporated companies have been able to communicate electronically with their...
Jan 7, 2013
The year ahead – A compliance primer for 2013. Click the cover image below to view or download a pdf of the full...
