Second part of companies legislation gazetted

Includes Disclosure of Information about Benefits of Directors.

The second batch of subsidiary legislation for the implementation of the new Companies Ordinance was gazetted recently, said the Financial Services & the Treasury Bureau.

The first batch of five pieces of subsidiary legislation were introduced in early February. The second batch comprises two new pieces of subsidiary legislation: the Revision of Financial Statements & Reports Regulation and the Disclosure of Information about Benefits of Directors Regulation.

These regulations prescribe the detailed requirements on benefits to directors to be disclosed in the notes to financial statements and matters concerning the revision of reporting documents. They do not contain any provisions relating to the inspection of the Companies Register, however.

The bureau said subsidiary legislation for the ordinance is being implemented in batches for administrative, technical and procedural reasons.

The new Companies Ordinance, which the Legislative Council passed last July, enhances corporate governance, improves regulation, facilitates business and modernizes the law to strengthen Hong Kong's competitiveness as a corporate domicile and enhance its status as a major international commercial and financial centre.