Review of the Hong Kong Companies Ordinance

Abstract:     
Although nineteenth century English companies law proved remarkably serviceable to the British empire, like all good things, it ultimately neared the end of its useful life and underwent a major rethinking earlier this decade, culminating in the Companies Act of 2006. Elsewhere though, throughout what had been the old empire, commercial expediency had already forced reconsideration of English companies law concepts, most notably in Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Hong Kong. This report is the starting point for the ongoing renewal of companies law in Hong Kong, and itself provided the catalyst for the recent reforms of U.K. companies law. The report has also served as a companies law primer for transitional economies such as Vietnam. The executive summary, which is also available in Chinese, outlines the structure and issues associated with a modern corporate law.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 48

Keywords: Hong Kong, Corporate Law, Companies Law, Reforms

JEL Classification: G18, G30, G38, K10, K19, K20, K22

working papers series