15 December, 2022
Continuing the CGj review of the Institute’s 13th Biennial Corporate Governance Conference, this article highlights the key takeaways from session two of the conference, offering insights into the risks and rewards of technological innovation. The remit for the...
15 December, 2022
The fourth session of the Institute’s CGC 2022 addressed Hong Kong’s development strategies and the importance of maintaining high governance standards to reinforce Hong Kong’s position as a premier international financial centre. Against the backdrop of the...
15 December, 2022
Dr Kelvin Wong SBS JP, Chairman of the Accounting and Financial Reporting Council (AFRC), talks to CGj about the goals of the AFRC as the independent regulator of the accounting profession in Hong Kong. Q: What was the primary purpose of launching Hong Kong’s new...
15 December, 2022
Leon Mao, Head of Advisory, Vistra North Asia, outlines 10 things that corporate governance professionals need to know about key changes to British Virgin Islands (BVI) company law and regulations. Recently, the BVI government enacted key changes to the jurisdiction’s...
15 December, 2022
CGj overviews two guidance notes issued by the Institute’s Company Law Interest Group – on share repurchases and calling a general meeting when there are disputing shareholders – which, while covering very different topics, are of equal relevance to the governance...
15 December, 2022
Henry Kwong, Tax Partner, Cheng & Cheng Taxation Services Ltd, analyses the latest guidance from Hong Kong’s Inland Revenue Department (IRD) on the unified funds tax exemption regime and carried interest tax concessions. With the aim of upholding Hong Kong’s...
15 December, 2022
Future Focus – CGC 2022 review Click here or on the cover image below to view or download a pdf of the full edition....
22 December, 2021
As we are approaching the year end, CSj takes a look at the road ahead for governance professionals in the coming year and beyond. In 2021, the Hong Kong Chartered Governance Institute (the Institute) has been focusing its ECPD services and publications on a number of...
22 December, 2021
Can we start with an introduction to your background and your passion for cross-cultural communication? ‘Around 30 years ago, I studied at the Beijing Foreign Studies University, which has been the training ground for Mainland diplomats since 1949. My major was...
22 December, 2021
Gabriela Kennedy, Partner, and Karen Lee, Counsel, Mayer Brown, highlight key aspects of the Mainland’s much anticipated Personal Information Protection Law. On 20 August 2021, the Mainland’s Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL) was passed. The new law came into...
22 December, 2021
CSj reviews a two-part guidance note issued by the Technology Interest Group of the Hong Kong Chartered Governance Institute (the Institute), looking at the all-important issue of data protection in today’s highly data-dependent business environment. Good data...
22 December, 2021
Death and probate processes may be an unwelcome topic in Hong Kong, but Alex Chung, Associate, Withersworldwide, recommends some basic due diligence measures that can help streamline the probate process for both individuals and family businesses. The Covid-19 pandemic...
22 December, 2021
How can non-state-owned listed companies make better use of equity incentive plans as a means of encouragement? Yang Liang, Board Secretary, Livzon Pharmaceutical Group Inc, shares his experience on the planning and implementation in this area. Currently, listed...
22 December, 2021
Future focus Click here or on the cover image below to view or download a pdf of the full...
28 December, 2020
This article reviews a recent webinar held by The Hong Kong Institute of Chartered Secretaries (the Institute) exploring the implications of the shift away from shareholder primacy as an underpinning philosophy of corporate governance. In August 2019, the Business...
28 December, 2020
This first part of the Champion Paper of the latest Corporate Governance Paper Competition held by The Hong Kong Institute of Chartered Secretaries (the Institute) provides a cost-benefit analysis of environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting. Gone are the...
28 December, 2020
Jeremy Birch, Hannah Cassidy and Kyle Wombolt, Herbert Smith Freehills, warn that the private sector is at risk of failing to prioritise modernising compliance and investigations functions just as regulators become increasingly technologically sophisticated....
28 December, 2020
Hoi Tak Leung, Counsel, Digital Economy, and Patrick Phua, Practice Head, Asia Global Loans and Global Markets, Ashurst, outline some key points of the first draft of the Mainland’s Personal Information Protection Law. On 21 October 2020, the National People’s...
28 December, 2020
Xavier Garralda, Associate, Vistra Hong Kong; and Effie Vasilopoulos, Partner, and David Kalani Lee, Counsel, Sidley Austin, highlight the features of Hong Kong’s new Limited Partnership Fund Ordinance designed to boost Hong Kong’s standing as an asset management and...
28 December, 2020
What is your role as a governance professional? ‘I am the Corporation Secretary of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd and Regional Head of Corporate Governance for HSBC in Asia-Pacific.’ What was your career path to your current role? ‘I joined a...
28 December, 2020
What is your role as a governance professional? ‘As an educator, I guess my role is like a time traveller, bridging the past and the present and taking the present into the future. Please allow me to explain. What is knowledge, and in this particular context, business...
28 December, 2020
Back to basics – Reframing corporate purpose Click here or on the cover image below to view or download a pdf of the full...
22 December, 2019
In October this year, Edith Shih FCIS FCS(PE), International President, The Chartered Governance Institute, delivered the opening address of Governance New Zealand’s National Governance Conference. In this article, based on her speech, she looks at emerging trends in...
22 December, 2019
Pat Nie Woo, Partner, Business Reporting and Sustainability, KPMG China, argues that making improved environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance an economic necessity will be our path to a more sustainable future. With United Nations reports containing...
22 December, 2019
A cocktail reception to celebrate 70 years of The Chartered Governance Institute and 25 years of The Hong Kong Institute of Chartered Secretaries in Hong Kong had to be cancelled last month. The three speakers lined up for the event share their reflections with this...
22 December, 2019
Connie HY Lee and Tommy Cheung, Barristers-at-Law, Des Voeux Chambers, consider the implications of Hong Kong’s first two competition law enforcement actions, with a focus on the attribution of liability. Overview of the competition law regime Hong Kong joined over...
22 December, 2019
Colum Bancroft, Managing Director, AlixPartners, looks at the risks and compliance issues arising from market conditions resulting from the current US-China trade war. The US-China trade war has caught the world’s attention in recent months, and even more so recently...
22 December, 2019
Susan Lo FCIS FCS(PE), Executive Director of Corporate Services, Tricor Services Ltd, reviews the interpretation of a charitable organisation in Hong Kong, and explains the benefits and stipulations of forming a company limited by guarantee for charity purposes....
22 December, 2019
Henry Kwong, Tax Partner, and Matthew Cheung, Tax Manager, Cheng & Cheng Taxation Services Ltd, guide us through the process of obtaining a Certificate of Resident Status in Hong Kong, a prerequisite for eligibility to claim tax benefits under a Double Taxation...
22 December, 2019
Global governance – Emerging trends Click here or on the cover image below to view or download a pdf of the full...
12 December, 2018
Whistleblowing provides an effective early warning system to ensure that fraud does not go undetected. Cynthia Chung, Partner, Deacons, argues that Hong Kong companies need to have corporate whistleblower policies and programmes in place, backed up by a comprehensive...
12 December, 2018
New legislation is expected in the coming year to better protect equality and eliminate discrimination in Hong Kong. Peter Reading, Legal Counsel, Equal Opportunities Commission, highlights this changing compliance environment and looks at the work that still needs to...
12 December, 2018
How successfully companies address the challenges and seize the opportunities of emerging technologies will be a key factor of business success in the years ahead, argues the winning paper in the Institute’s latest Corporate Governance Paper Competition. Companies...
12 December, 2018
Mohan Datwani FCIS FCS(PE), the Institute’s Senior Director and Head of Technical & Research, looks at two recent decisions of the Listing Committee of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Ltd that reiterate the importance of full compliance with the law in the...
12 December, 2018
A new report by the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data highlights the need for advanced data processing activities to follow ethical principles and be fair to all stakeholders. Advanced data processing activities, such as data analytics and artificial...
12 December, 2018
Two additions to the Institute’s Interest Group guidance note series give advice on responding to investigations by regulators and public bodies, and on the complex considerations relevant to buyers and sellers in merger and acquisition transactions. In the three...
12 December, 2018
William Hallatt, Hannah Cassidy and Michael KS Tan, Herbert Smith Freehills, explore the Securities and Futures Commission’s new regulatory framework for virtual assets. The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has published a statement (Statement), together with a...
12 December, 2018
Opportunity lost? Whistleblower protection in Hong Kong Click here or on the cover image below to view or download a pdf of the full...
13 December, 2017
Lucy Newcombe, Director, Global Corporate Communications, Computershare, takes us on a tour of the 2017 Annual General Meeting (AGM) season, locally and internationally. After several years where shareholder activism has been the major point of change and contention...
13 December, 2017
CSj talks to HKSAR Financial Secretary Paul Mo-Po Chan GBM GBS JP FCIS FCS about his aspirations for maintaining Hong Kong’s competitive edge in the rapidly changing political, business and social environment, and about the role that professional practitioners such as...
13 December, 2017
John Sayer, Director, Carbon Care Asia, highlights the latest trends in environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting and offers advice on how to ensure you gain first-mover benefits rather than face the catch-up penalties of a laggard. It is clear that ESG...
13 December, 2017
Disclosing just performance metrics does not constitute effective environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting. Dr Glenn Frommer and Theodora Thunder, Principals, Sustainability Partnership, give some practical advice on how companies can structure a connected...
13 December, 2017
Herbert Smith Freehills looks at the latest guidance from the Securities and Futures Commission which sets out minimum standards to enhance cybersecurity resilience and reduce and mitigate hacking risks related to internet trading. On 27 October 2017, the Securities...
13 December, 2017
The winning paper in the Institute’s latest Corporate Governance Paper Competition suggests ways for both companies and government policy makers to improve the governance and sustainability of Chinese family-controlled firms. Although the concepts of corporate...
13 December, 2017
2017 AGM season review Click here or on the cover image below to view or download a pdf of the full edition....
12 December, 2016
Lucy Newcombe, Director, Global Corporate Communications, Computershare, reports on another busy and intriguing AGM season around the globe. Hong Kong/China Five years may seem like a relatively short period of time in the grand scheme of things, a mere blip in the...
12 December, 2016
Cas Sydorowitz, Chief Executive Officer of Computershare’s proxy business in Europe, shares some advice on how companies in Asia can prepare themselves for the rising tide of shareholder activism in the region. Hong Kong-listed companies have a history of...
12 December, 2016
Christine Chow, Associate Director, Hermes EOS, Hermes Investment Management, answers questions on shareholder engagement raised by attendees at the recent HKICS Corporate Governance Conference 2016. At the 10th biennial Corporate Governance Conference (CGC 2016)...
12 December, 2016
A new HKICS guidance note suggests that, despite its reputation as a fiendishly complex and technical piece of legislation, Hong Kong’s new Competition Ordinance can be best understood with an appreciation of the nature of, and the benefits of, competition. Hong...
12 December, 2016
Gabriela Kennedy, Partner, and Xiaoyan Zhang, Counsel, Mayer Brown JSM, look at the implications of China’s newly passed Cybersecurity Law. On 7 November 2016, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China passed the controversial...
12 December, 2016
Following the first successful conviction resulting from the ICAC’s investigations into bid-rigging in a renovation project in Sha Tin, Mohan Datwani FCIS FCS(PE), Senior Director and Head of Technical & Research, The Hong Kong Institute of Chartered...
12 December, 2016
2016 AGM season review Click here or on the cover image below to view or download a pdf of the full...
15 December, 2015
Hong Kong’s competition law goes live this month, Stephen Crosswell, Partner, and Tom Jenkins, Senior Associate, Baker & McKenzie, ask – are you ready? It has been over three years since the enactment of the Competition Ordinance (Ordinance), passed with...
15 December, 2015
Daniel Wan, the co-author of the new HKICS guidance note on Hong Kong’s connected transaction rules, discusses the important role company secretaries can play in helping directors and managers understand Hong Kong’s complex connected transactions regime....
15 December, 2015
On 6 November this year, in preparation for the 2015 Paris climate change conference, the Environment Bureau released the Hong Kong Climate Change Report 2015. Jurgita Balaisyte, Project Manager, CSR Asia, discusses the measures outlined in the report to reduce Hong...
15 December, 2015
CSj highlights the key elements of the government’s proposed ‘resolution regime’ designed to ensure that regulatory authorities in Hong Kong have the tools necessary to intervene if a major, systemically important financial institution gets into...
15 December, 2015
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 first part of their article, the authors focus on a comparison of the US and...
15 December, 2015
A recent decision by the Court of First Instance confirms the ability of minority shareholders to obtain an order for inspection of documents under Section 740 of the Companies Ordinance (Cap 622) to investigate into potential corporate mismanagement. The recent case...
15 December, 2015
Competition Ordinance – A wake-up call Click here or on the cover image below to view or download a pdf of the full...
5 December, 2014
CSj interviews HKICS Chief Executive Samantha Suen FCIS FCS(PE) on her strategic goals for the HKICS. What are your aspirations as Chief Executive of the HKICS? ‘As Chief Executive of the HKICS, I help Council formulate strategies to develop the Institute and...
5 December, 2014
This ‘Know your Institute’ series of articles has tracked the evolution of the Chartered Secretarial profession in Hong Kong over the last 65 years and has sought to familiarise readers with the work of the Hong Kong Institute of Chartered Secretaries in...
5 December, 2014
A new compliance challenge for company secretaries in Hong Kong is just around the corner with the Competition Ordinance due to be implemented next year. Our In Profile candidate this month, Clara Ingen-Housz, Partner, Linklaters, helps to clarify some of the...
5 December, 2014
Hong Kong companies, even where they have little connection with the US, may need to consider the long arm of US law in their compliance programmes, argue Kyle Wombolt, Global Head of Corporate Crime and Investigations, and Siyu Zhang, Associate, Herbert Smith...
5 December, 2014
The winning paper in this year’s Corporate Governance Paper Competition examines the recent changes brought in by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEx) to corporate governance requirements to raise the overall standard of issuers’ corporate governance, and...
5 December, 2014
At a time when the theft of customer information often leads to executive level shake-ups, boards are taking a greater role in evaluating the adequacy of their organisations’ cybersecurity. Many boards, however, have yet to apply the same level of critical observation...
5 December, 2014
Q: Can we use our board portal to assist us with our board evaluation process? A: Most organisations have reviews in which board members are asked to rate their individual performance as well as the perceived effectiveness of the entire board. Many companies also...
5 December, 2014
Know your Institute – The road ahead. Click here or on the cover image below to view or download a pdf of the full...
6 December, 2013
The payment by HSBC of a US$1.9 billion fine in December 2012 to settle a money-laundering and terrorist-financing charge by US authorities has been a high-profile reminder of the need to keep anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/ CTF) compliance...
6 December, 2013
Since its creation in March 2010, the Corporate Secretaries International Association (CSIA) has not shied away from the tough challenges facing the global corporate secretarial profession. Perhaps the toughest of these challenges has been the attempt to establish...
6 December, 2013
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...
6 December, 2013
The Competition Ordinance, which is likely to be fully implemented in 2015, will have significant compliance implications for company secretaries in Hong Kong. A new HKICS guidance note on the ordinance seeks to familiarise HKICS members with the main provisions of...
6 December, 2013
Few would dispute the importance of intangible factors such as a company’s brand, its networks, its people and its capacity for innovation, but intangibles are, by definition, not easy to quantify. Josh Dowse, Principal, DowseCSP, introduces a new approach to...
6 December, 2013
A new International Monetary Fund (IMF) report finds that progress toward levelling the playing field for women in the workforce has stalled. Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the IMF, outlines some of the many benefits of allowing women to develop their full...
6 December, 2013
Anti-money laundering – Why it pays to pay attention Click here or on the cover image below to view or download a pdf of the full...
7 December, 2012
The first piece of advice for company secretaries embarking on a formal board evaluation process for the first time should probably be don’t panic. The prospect of board evaluation is often quite daunting to the uninitiated, but perhaps for the wrong reasons. Company...
7 December, 2012
Some boards are still reluctant to commission an externally-facilitated board evaluation. Based on his substantial experience with ICSA Board Evaluation, Simon Osborne FCIS, Chief Executive of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ICSA), points...
7 December, 2012
CSj talks to one of mainland China’s most respected corporate governance experts, Professor Li Weian, President of Dongbei University of Finance and Economics, about what kind of corporate governance culture will emerge in mainland China in the years ahead With...
7 December, 2012
With the Securities and Futures Commission increasingly aggressive in enforcement, what should you do to best protect your company? Timothy Loh, Principal, Timothy Loh Solicitors, makes some practical recommendations on how to prepare for and handle regulatory...
7 December, 2012
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 which, like...
7 December, 2012
Q: As an international company our executives are based in offices around the world. We are considering moving to an online board portal, but there are differences of opinion. How can I, as the company secretary, demonstrate the advantages for board members in terms...
7 December, 2012
Board evaluation – Asking the right questions. Click here or on the cover image below to view or download a pdf of the full...
