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The Companies Registry administers and enforces the major part of the
Companies Ordinance. The Registry incorporates local companies, registers
overseas companies, registers documents required to be submitted by registered
companies and provides facilities for search of company records. It also
administers and enforces several other ordinances including the Trustee
Ordinance, insofar as it relates to trust companies, the Registered Trustees
Incorporation Ordinance and the Limited Partnerships Ordinance. The Registry
is also responsible for a wide range of legal, policy and regulatory issues,
including the ongoing work under the Companies Ordinance and corporate
governance reviews.
Since 1993, the Companies Registry has operated as
a trading fund department. Therefore, the Registry can keep most of its
income and deploy it flexibly, having regard to its needs, business turnover
and its customers' demands and expectations. The department achieved a
surplus of $40.4 million in the 2002-03 financial year. The substantial
surplus generated over the past years has built up a healthy reserve,
protected the department from the adverse impact of the economic downturn
and helped finance the department's development projects.
The Registry has continued with its implementation
of the Strategic Change Plan (SCP) to transform the department into a
fully computerised Registry by early 2006 and enable electronic delivery
of services in filing, processing, storing and obtaining documents or
information. The implementation of the SCP will lead to a significant
reduction in the time taken to process documents, more timely updating
and disclosure of company information, improved quality of information,
enhanced data security and integrity and higher productivity at reduced
operating costs. The core initiative of the SCP is the development of
an Integrated Companies Registry Information System (ICRIS) in two phases.
The first phase includes the replacement of the existing computer systems,
document imaging, conversion of microfilm records and online searches
on current data and digitised images of registered company documents kept
in the Registry's database. The second phase will include the implementation
of online document registration and company incorporation. Development
of Phase I of ICRIS is under way. It is anticipated that Phase I of ICRIS
will be implemented in the third quarter of 2004.
In 2003, 50 049 new companies were incorporated. During
the year, the total nominal capital of new companies registered was $49.08
billion and 5 778 companies increased their nominal capital by $681.41
billion. At year-end, 497 406 local companies were on the register, compared
with 503 111 in 2002.
Companies incorporated overseas must register certain
documents with the Registry within one month of establishing a place of
business in Hong Kong. During 2003, 724 of these were registered. At year-end,
6 983 companies from 82 countries were registered. |
