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The number of local companies newly registered with the Companies Registry in 2011 hit a record high of 148,329, an increase of 6.31% from 139,530 in 2010, said the Registrar of Companies, Ms Ada LL Chung, today (January 8).
According to the monthly figures of the Registry, the number of companies incorporated in July 2011 reached a record of 24,957. The figure doubled the average monthly incorporations of around 11,000 for 2010 and may be attributable to the local economic environment and expiration of the wavier of business registration fees for new companies in August 2011.
By the end of 2011, the total number of live local companies registered under the Companies Ordinance was 956,392, up 92,630 from that in 2010.
As regards non-Hong Kong companies that have newly established a place of business in Hong Kong, 798 companies were registered under Part XI of the Companies Ordinance in 2011, an increase of 8.28% from 737 in 2010. The total number of non-Hong Kong companies stood at 8,554 at the end of last year.
With the introduction of the one-stop electronic service for company incorporation and business registration in March 2011, electronic Certificates of Incorporation and Business Registration Certificates can be issued in one go in less than 24 hours after the application. As at the end of last year, 15,248 companies were incorporated online. "The new service facilitates the start of business in Hong Kong and Hong Kong's ranking as a place to start business improved from the 6th to 5th position internationally according to the Doing Business 2012 Report published by the World Bank," Ms Chung said.
"The Companies Registry will continue to enhance the electronic services at the e-Registry platform. Electronic filing of the more common statutory returns under the Companies Ordinance will be introduced in phases this year," Ms Chung added.
Concerning the progress of the rewrite of the Companies Ordinance, Ms Chung said, "The Companies Bill was introduced into the Legislative Council on January 26 last year and is currently under scrutiny by a Bills Committee. We seek to enact the Bill in the 2011-12 legislative session."
The number of charges on assets of companies received for registration in 2011 was 37,673, a decrease of 8.86% from 41,337 in 2010. The number of memoranda of satisfaction and releases received for registration decreased by 6.02%, from 29,636 in 2010 to 27,851 in 2011.
In 2011, a total of 185 prospectuses were registered, slightly decreased from 195 in 2010.
The total number of documents received for filing last year increased by 14.83%, from 1,884,262 to 2,163,743.
A total of 3,246,085 searches of document image records were conducted through the Registry's electronic search services in 2011, an increase of 4.25% from 3,113,758 in 2010.
The total number of summonses issued by the Registrar of Companies last year against companies for breaches of the Companies Ordinance, mainly for failure to file annual returns, was 6,016, an increase of 12.64% from 5,341 in 2010.
For details of the statistics, please visit the "Statistics" section of the Registry's website (www.cr.gov.hk).
Ends/Sunday, January 8, 2012
Issued at HKT 11:04
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