Feb 27, 2021
The potential of artificial intelligence is enormous, but Dr Jag Kundi, a Hong Kong-based scholar-practitioner active in the FinTech space, warns that without thorough ethical oversight, this new tool could have unintended, disastrous consequences. Artificial...
Feb 27, 2021
In her Guest of Honour speech at the Institute’s Online Annual Celebration 2021, Laura Cha GBM GBS JP, Chairman, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd (HKEX), argued that governance professionals are playing a pivotal role in redefining how businesses are run in the...
Feb 27, 2021
Robert Allender, Managing Director of EnergyUse Strategy Advisors, gives some advice for Hong Kong companies about the significance of their company’s energy affairs to board obligations and company secretary responsibilities. A company’s energy affairs consist of all...
Feb 27, 2021
Evelyn Chan, Partner, and Adriel Wong, Paralegal, Gall, look at the government’s latest proposals to formally implement a statutory corporate rescue procedure and insolvent trading provisions in Hong Kong. The idea of reforming Hong Kong’s corporate rescue regime was...
Feb 27, 2021
Cybersecurity experts at PwC argue that cybersecurity concerns have become all the more critical as a result of the acceleration of digital transformation in today’s business environment. The world experienced one of the greatest accelerations in digital...
Feb 27, 2021
Angel Wong, Partner, and Maxwell Chan, Senior Associate, ONC Lawyers, summarise a recent guidance letter on the qualification and experience requirements for company secretaries of Hong Kong listed companies. Introduction On 28 August 2020, The Stock Exchange of Hong...
Feb 27, 2021
What is your role as a governance professional? ‘The majority of my career was spent in corporate banking. Most of my clients were large listed and non-listed companies from Hong Kong and the Mainland. One of my key responsibilities was to assess my clients’ corporate...
Feb 27, 2021
What is your role as a governance professional? ‘I joined Nomura Asset Management Hong Kong Ltd in 2013, initially focusing on the firm’s regulatory compliance activities, but gradually my roles and responsibilities expanded to cover corporate governance and risk...
Feb 27, 2021
Artificial intelligence – an ethical perspective Click the cover image below to view or download a pdf of the full...
Feb 24, 2020
Given the market turbulence in Hong Kong, is the timing right for Employee Share Ownership Plans (ESOPs)? ESOPs were first introduced by Peninsula Newspapers in the US in 1956. Since then, ESOPs have been regarded as one of the classic methods to invigorate businesses...
Feb 24, 2020
Mark Parsons, Partner, Hogan Lovells, Hong Kong, looks at new proposals for the reform of Hong Kong’s Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance. On Monday 20 January 2020, the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau (CMAB), jointly with the Privacy Commissioner for...
Feb 24, 2020
Last year Rory Herbert (GradCG) from the UK and Kate Yuen from Hong Kong were selected to participate in the London-Hong Kong Intern Exchange 2019. They talk to CSj, along with Edith Shih FCIS FCS(PE), International President, The Chartered Governance Institute, and...
Feb 24, 2020
Tony Wong, Founder, and Regina Tai, Senior Consultant, Alaya Consulting, discuss the findings of Alaya’s latest annual survey of the environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards of Hong Kong’s listed companies. Seven years after first implementing its ESG...
Feb 24, 2020
With tougher environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosure requirements on the way for listed companies in Hong Kong, a new joint report by KPMG China, CLP Holdings Ltd (CLP) and The Hong Kong Institute of Chartered Secretaries (the Institute) provides...
Feb 24, 2020
ESG – a governance perspective Click the cover image below to view or download a pdf of the full...
Feb 11, 2019
Board reviews have become an accepted and valued part of board governance in the UK. Philip Sidney, Associate, Lintstock, highlights some insights into board evaluation best practice from a recent Lintstock study of current practices in the UK. 2018 was an...
Feb 11, 2019
The Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators International President and The Hong Kong Institute of Chartered Secretaries (HKICS) Past President, Edith Shih FCIS FCS(PE), in her recent HKICS Double Anniversary Gala Dinner Guest of Honour speech, argued...
Feb 11, 2019
Two years on from the adoption by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) of its ‘front-loaded’ approach to regulation, Ashley Alder, the SFC’s Chief Executive Officer, gives an update on how it is working in practice. Hong Kong can enhance its current position to...
Feb 11, 2019
If board evaluations are tedious or cumbersome, director engagement can be impacted negatively. Franklin Chen, Director, Diligent, suggests ways to boost the engagement of directors in, and therefore the effectiveness of, your board evaluation process. A recent global...
Feb 11, 2019
This article highlights new amendments to the Companies Ordinance which became effective on 1 February 2019. It has been five years since the new Companies Ordinance (CO) commenced operation in March 2014. The Companies (Amendment) (No 2) Ordinance 2018 (the Amendment...
Feb 11, 2019
Catherine Zheng, Partner; Dora Si, Partner; and Winne Yue, Professional Support lawyer; Deacons, look at the implications of Mainland China’s new e-commerce law, which comes into effect this month, relating to the liability of e-commerce platform operators in respect...
Feb 11, 2019
Milda Valevice, Legal Counsel, Citco Global Subsidiary Governance Services (GSGS) gives compliance advice following the step change we are currently seeing in the scope of anti-money laundering regulation around the world. In April 2018, the European Parliament...
Feb 11, 2019
Board evaluation – Best practice update Click the cover image below to view or download a pdf of the full...
Feb 26, 2018
The Institute’s Chartered Secretaries Preview Day is running its second year. Whilst priority will be given to undergraduates in Hong Kong to participate in this event, the Institute is inviting its registered students to join and meet with industry experts for...
Feb 14, 2018
Chadi Hantouche, Head of Cybersecurity and Digital Trust Asia-Pacific, Wavestone, offers advice on how to prioritise compliance objectives in the run-up to the implementation of the EU’s new General Data Protection Regulation, which becomes effective in May this year....
Feb 14, 2018
In the emerging data privacy landscape in Hong Kong, Stephen Kai-yi Wong, Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, argues that a consideration of ethics is just as important as adherence to the law. Thanks for giving us this interview. The landscape for data privacy in...
Feb 14, 2018
In a follow-up to their cover story last month on the Securities and Futures Commission’s new ‘front-loaded’ approach to regulation, Timothy Loh, Managing Partner; and Greg Heaton, Senior Consultant; Timothy Loh LLP, look at what this new regulatory...
Feb 14, 2018
Christine Chow, Director – Engagement, Hermes Investment Management, looks at applications of blockchain technology for responsible supply chain management. Following the launch of Bitcoin futures on 10 December 2017, it seems an opportune time to look into the...
Feb 14, 2018
Alexander Tang, Senior Associate, Stephenson Harwood, looks at recent developments in cross-border insolvency law adopted by the Hong Kong judiciary to overcome the deficiencies in our outdated insolvency legislation. There are an increasing number of cross-border...
Feb 14, 2018
The usual mechanism for the removal of a director or an auditor is by ordinary resolution of members at a general meeting. Dr Davy Wu, Senior Lecturer, Hong Kong Baptist University, looks at whether the board of directors can do the same without a resolution by...
Feb 14, 2018
Privacy compliance – A marathon not a sprint Click the cover image below to view or download a pdf of the full...
Feb 14, 2017
Corporate governance practices vary internationally, but is a global consensus emerging on corporate governance best practice? Moreover, how will the changing attitudes to governance affect the company secretary role? Edward Speed, the London-based Chairman; and Alice...
Feb 14, 2017
CSj interviews Pensri Suteerasarn, President of the Thai Listed Companies Association, on the latest initiatives in Thailand to strengthen the local corporate secretarial profession. Thanks for giving us this interview, can we start with some background about...
Feb 14, 2017
Thomas Atkinson, who took up his appointment as Executive Director of Enforcement at the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) in May last year, gives an overview of the SFC’s enforcement priorities going forward. Ever since I started my challenging new role...
Feb 14, 2017
The recent Market Misconduct Tribunal (MMT) decision in the Citron Research case confirms the usefulness of Section 277 of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (SFO) for regulators seeking to prevent a false market in the shares of Hong Kong listed companies....
Feb 14, 2017
Alexander Que, Partner, and Rhoda Yung, Partner, Deacons, look at the implications of the first finding of breaches of the inside information disclosure requirements under the Securities and Futures Ordinance. The first set of proceedings in the Market Misconduct...
Feb 14, 2017
Governance perspectives – Local and global Click the cover image below to view or download a pdf of the full...
Feb 16, 2016
CSj interviews company secretaries in Hong Kong for their views on how board portals have impacted their work, which systems they prefer and why the old-school paper system is still favoured by some. Board portals first came to prominence in the early 2000s, and were...
Feb 16, 2016
Eric Mok FCIS FCS,
Company Secretary and Assistant General Counsel,
Lenovo Group, tells CSj about the challenges and rewards of working as a company secretary for an organisation that has made the transition from a domestic to a multinational corporation. Computer...
Feb 16, 2016
The latest HKICS Regional Board Secretaries Panel (RBSP) meeting, held in Hong Kong last month, focused on the management of risk from the perspective of Mainland companies listed in Hong Kong. On 14 January this year, more than 30 corporate secretaries representing...
Feb 16, 2016
Karen Pong, Project Coordinator, CSR Asia Hong Kong, gives a quick guide to the stock exchange’s upgraded environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting requirements. Listed companies in Hong Kong should by now be aware of the decision of Hong Kong...
Feb 16, 2016
Thomas Laryea and Alex Wang, Dentons, take a look at the significance of the International Monetary Fund decision to include China’s renminbi in the basket of currencies the IMF uses to calculate the value of its reserve asset, the SDR. The inclusion by the...
Feb 16, 2016
Board portals – A company secretarial perspective Click the cover image below to view or download a pdf of the full...
Feb 5, 2015
Hong Kong’s new Competition Ordinance, scheduled to be implemented later this year, will have significant compliance implications for companies in Hong Kong. CSj takes advice on the best way for compliance professionals to prepare for the new law. In most...
Feb 5, 2015
Frank Fine, Head of International Antitrust at DeHeng Law Offices and Executive Director of the China Institute of International Antitrust and Investment, gives an introduction to managing antitrust risk in the current global regulatory environment. On 30 September...
Feb 5, 2015
Mark Jephcott, Partner, Head of Competition Asia, and Grace Aylward, Associate, Herbert Smith Freehills LLP, offer a practical guide to preparing for an unannounced inspection by the Hong Kong Competition Commission. It is anticipated that the Hong Kong Competition...
Feb 5, 2015
Dr Maurice Ngai, CEO of SW Corporate Services Group Ltd, discusses his aspirations as the newly elected president of the HKICS. Congratulations on your election as HKICS President – can we start by discussing what you would like to achieve in this role? ‘I would...
Feb 5, 2015
Al Percival, Managing Director, Asia Pacific, Diligent APAC Board Services, identifies seven best practices that will help ensure that your board portal will deliver on its paperless promise. Given the amount of information that is distributed to board members before...
Feb 5, 2015
A recent decision of the Court of Final Appeal clarifies the law relating to suspected anti-money laundering cases in Hong Kong. In November 2014 the Court of Final Appeal (CFA) quashed a conviction by the Court of Appeal in a money laundering case. The CFA...
Feb 5, 2015
Q: Can a private company limited by shares and incorporated under the Companies Ordinance (Cap 622) appoint any corporate directors if it belongs to a group of companies, of which a member company incorporated overseas is listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange? A:...
Feb 5, 2015
Q: We are considering introducing an online proxy voting channel – what are the legal and corporate governance aspects we should consider? A: The Hong Kong Companies Ordinance which became effective in March 2014 has introduced a number of changes for companies...
Feb 5, 2015
Antitrust compliance comes to Hong Kong. Click the cover image below to view or download a pdf of the full...
Feb 5, 2014
Ensuring compliance with one set of listing rules is difficult enough, so spare a thought for the practitioners who need to ensure compliance with multiple, and potentially conflicting, sets. Senior company secretaries working for companies with multiple international...
Feb 5, 2014
In this second and final part of their article, Billy Lam, Loretta Chan and Wilson Fung of Mayer Brown JSM, highlight the key issues that directors and company secretaries need to watch out for in the new Companies Ordinance. As we all know, the new Companies...
Feb 5, 2014
The latest Regional Board Secretary Panel meeting, held on 7 January 2014 in Hong Kong, confirms the key role of the company secretary in guiding directors through today’s complex and highly regulated business landscape. T he Institute’s Regional Board...
Feb 5, 2014
Benchmarking the world’s stock exchanges Which of the world’s stock exchanges are home to the world’s most advanced sustainability reporters, and, perhaps more significantly, why? A new study by CK Capital, the investment research arm of Corporate...
Feb 5, 2014
Q: Why all of a sudden have board portals become a buzz word in Hong Kong? Our traditional board had not previously been interested in technology. What’s changed? A: Introduction of the iPad fundamentally opened the boardroom to technology by making it...
Feb 5, 2014
Global compliance. Click the cover image below to view or download a pdf of the full...
Feb 7, 2013
The business ethics debate is still hampered by our abiding fascination with the story of the goodies and the baddies, the heroes and the villains. The real picture, of course, is a little more complicated. In this article, Jeffrey M Kaplan, Partner, Kaplan &...
Feb 7, 2013
The governance of not-for-profit entities, public bodies and indeed the government itself is just as important as the governance of corporations, but receives far less attention. In a two-part article starting this month, Gordon Jones FCIS FCS, author and Hong...
Feb 7, 2013
Ultimately the board is responsible for maintaining a company’s corporate governance standards, but a number of cases handled by Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) indicate that some directors in Hong Kong need to be reminded of...
Feb 7, 2013
Last year the Institute started a series of informal get-togethers under the guise of ‘Happy Friday for Chartered Secretaries’ – an opportunity for the Institute’s members of all ages and backgrounds to meet and discuss topical professional issues. At one...
Feb 7, 2013
The latest Global Risks report published by the World Economic Forum is an excellent resource for boards prepared to think more widely about the global trends shaping the future of businesses around the world Since the global financial crisis, companies have become...
Feb 7, 2013
Although China is a very lucrative and attractive market, business success in China is difficult. James Chapman, Partner, Foley & Lardner LLP, argues that foreign companies can save themselves millions of dollars and reap great rewards by learning from those that...
Feb 7, 2013
Q: My board is concerned about data privacy and security – will an online platform increase or decrease these risks? A: One argument often wheeled out against the transition to a board portal is that security will be compromised. The idea, however, that asking...
Feb 7, 2013
Behavioral ethics – A new approach to ethical compliance. Click the cover image below to view or download a pdf of the full...
