Companies Ordinance 2018: Keeping of Significant Controllers Register

Company (Amendment) Ordinance 2018, has been introduced since 1 March 2018. There are new requirements on the keeping of significant controllers registers by companies has come into operation.

All registered Hong Kong Limited Companies are required to identify a person/ persons who has/ have significant control over the company and maintain a Significant Controllers Register, informing and updating your Company Secretary,  which these information has to be accessible by law enforcement officer upon request on the spot.

Each company MUST also designate at least one person as its local Hong Kong representative in order to provide assistance relating to the Significant Controllers Register of the company when law enforcement officer request for them.

In order to prepare and keeping of the Significant Controllers Register (SCR), below actions are required;

 

1) A Place to Keep the SCR, can either be:
                                                                     A) at the Registered Office
                                                                     B) same place as the register of members;
                                                                     C) Any other place within Hong Kong 

Any companies selecting option C will have to also file Company Registry Form NR2 to report the location of keeping the SCR.

 

2) Identify the Significant Controller(s) of the company  with below steps:

                                                                     A) Reviewing the Company’s Register of Members

                                                                     B) Reviewing their Articles of Associations

                                                                     C) Reviewing shareholders agreements or other agreements and issuing notice(s) to any person who is believed to be the Significant Controller and any person who is believed to know the identity of the Significant controllers.

 

3) Prepare SCR and enter the required particulars of the Significant Controller(s) and contact details of the Local Designated Representative of the company into the Significant Controller Registry.

 

For more details, please contact your company secretary or email to josephine@centreo.hk

Click here for Company Registry of Hong Kong Significant Controller Registry Guideline.

Obligation for Hong Kong Companies to Maintain Significant Controllers Register

Any Hong Kong incorporated companies are required to maintain a Register of Significant Controllers by taking reasonable steps to identify its significant controllers.

From 1 March 2018, all Hong Kong incorporated companies, except for those companies that are listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, are required to maintain a Register of Significant Controllers (the ‘SCR’), which will be accessible to the persons whose names are entered in the register or on demand by any law enforcement officer.

 

Even if a company does not have a significant controller, the company is still required to keep the Significant Controller Registry.  The regime does not apply to any non-Hong Kong incorporated companies, even if they are registered as a Part 16 non-Hong Kong companies under the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 622 of the Laws of Hong Kong) (the Companies Ordinance).

A significant controller of a company includes:

                          A natural person that has significant control over the company.

                          A legal entity that is a member of the company and has significant control over the company.

 

A person has significant control of a company directly or indirectly holds:

  • more than 25% of the shares
  • more than 25% of the voting rights in the company
  • the right to appoint or remove a majority of the company’s board of directors.
  • has significant influence or control over the company.
  • has significant influence or control over the activities of a trust or firm which is not a legal person, but whose trustees or members meet one or more of the conditions specified above.

 

In order to identify the Significant Controllers, the companies should:

  • reviewing all documents and information readily available (such as the company’s register of members, articles of association, shareholder agreements, or other relevant covenants or agreements),
  • considering interests held by individuals, legal entities, trusts or firms, considering any evidence of joint arrangements, and any other actions that the company may have to take depending on that company’s circumstances.

 

Once the Company has identified its Significant Controllers, the Company must enter the required Significant Controller Registry particulars in the register within 7 days after the details have been confirmed.  Significant Controller Registry can not be left blank. Director(s), Shareholder(s) and Owner(s) of the Companies must inform/ update the Company Secretary with details, in order for the Company Secretary to assist to file and / or keep records of the Signifiant Controller Registry.

 

 

香港公司保留重要控制人登记册的义务

所有在香港注册成立的公司都必须通过采取合理措施来确定其重要控制人，以备存重要控制人名册。
自 2018 年 3 月 1 日起，除在香港联交所上市的公司外，所有在香港注册成立的公司都必须保存重要控制人名册（“SCR”），其姓名的人可以查阅该名册被登记在登记册中或应任何执法人员的要求登记。
 
即使公司没有重要控制人，该公司仍需保留重要控制人登记处。但这个制度不适用于任何非香港注册成立的公司，即使它们根据《公司条例》（香港法例第 622 章）（《公司条例》）注册为第 16 部非香港公司。
公司的重要控制人包括：
                          对公司有重大控制权的自然人。
                          作为公司股东并对公司拥有重大控制权的法人实体。
 
直接或间接对公司拥有重大控制权的人：
超过25%的股份
超过25%的公司投票权
任命或罢免公司董事会多数成员的权利。
对公司有重大影响或控制。
对非法人但其受托人或成员符合上述一项或多项条件的信托或公司的活动具有重大影响或控制。
 
为确定重要控制人，公司应：
审查所有现成的文件和信息（例如公司的股东名册、公司章程、股东协议或其他相关契约或协议），
考虑个人、法人实体、信托或公司持有的利益，考虑任何联合安排的证据，以及公司根据公司情况可能须采取的任何其他行动。
 
一旦公司确定了其重要控制人，公司必须在详细信息得到确认后的 7 天内在登记册中输入所需的重要控制人注册资料，而重要控制人登记处不能留空。公司的董事、股东和所有者必须通知/更新公司秘书的详细信息，以便公司秘书协助归档和或保存重要控制人登记处的记录。

2018 年公司条例：备存重要控制人登记册

《2018 年公司（修订）条例》已于2018 年 3 月 1 日开始实施。对公司保存重要控制人登记册的新要求已经开始实施。
所有在香港成立为法团的公司都必须确定对公司有重大控制权的人，并维护重要控制人登记册，通知和更新您的公司秘书，执法人员必须根据要求当场访问这些信息。
每家公司还必须指定至少一名人士作为其香港当地代表，以便在执法人员要求时提供与公司重要控制人登记册相关的协助。
为了准备和保存重要控制人登记册 (SCR)，需要采取以下行动；
 
1) 保存 SCR 的地方，可以是：
                                                                     A) 在注册办公处
                                                                     B) 与股东登记册相同的地方；
                                                                     C) 香港境内的任何其他地方 
选择选项 C 的任何公司还必须提交公司注册表格 NR2 以报告保存 SCR 的位置。
 
2) 通过以下步骤确定公司的重要控制人：
                                                                     A) 审查公司的股东名册
                                                                     B) 审查公司章程
                                                                     C) 审查股东协议或其他协议，并向被认为是重要控制人的任何人和被认为需要知道重要控制人身份的任何人发出通知。
 
3) 准备 SCR 并将重要控制人的所需资料和公司当地指定代表的联系方式输入到重要控制人登记处。
 
如想了解更多详情，请联络您的公司秘书或电邮至josephine@centreo.hk
点击此处了解更多香港公司注册处重要控制人注册指引。

Designated Representative of a Hong Kong Company

Other than identifying and keeping the Significant Controllers Register, the Hong Kong companies are also required to designated a representative for its company under the Companies Amendment Ordinance 2018.

 

According to the “Guideline on the Keeping of Significant Controllers Register“, Section 2.7 also pointed out a company must designate at lest one person as its representative to provide assistance relating to the company’s SCR to a law enforcement officer. The Designated Representative must be one of the following:

  • A member , director or an employee of the company ho is a natural person resident in Hong Kong.
  • An accounting professional, a legal professional or a Trust or Company Service Provider licensee as defined in the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance, Cap. 615(“AMLO)

 

Please contact us for more information about the Designated Representative for your Hong Kong Company.

香港公司的指定代表

除了识别和保存重要控制人登记册外，香港公司还必须根据 2018 年公司修订条例为其公司指定一名代表。
 
根据《重要控制人登记册备存指引》，第2.7节还指出，公司必须指定至少一人作为其代表，向执法人员提供与公司SCR相关的协助。指定代表必须是以下之一：
公司中的成员、董事或雇员是居住在香港的自然人。
会计专业人士、法律专业人士或信托或公司服务提供者的持牌人，如《反洗钱及反恐融资条例》（第 19 章）所定义。615（“反洗钱”）
 
如需了解更多有关您的香港公司的指定代表信息，请联系我们。

Emily Knapp, Accounting Intern @ Centre O

Hello Everyone!

 

My name is Emily Knapp and for the past two months I have served as an Accounting and Bookkeep Trainee at Centre O. I am about to begin my fourth year of accounting studies at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas, but travelled to Hong Kong to grow my technical skills, broaden my cultural horizons, and experience the adventure only found living abroad.

 

My time at Centre O has been made incredibly special by the teaching and encouragement I received from all employees, regardless of field. Centre O’s genuine staff, paired with the quality of work I was able to participate in and deliver, helped me to develop my knowledge of international industry accounting and international work culture.

 

Specifically, working at Centre O has allowed me to better familiarize with cloud-based accounting and reporting systems, the process of creating management accounts, and Hong Kong’s unique tax system. I learned a great deal about our accounting system, Xero, and saw how easily the system integrates Centre O’s bookkeeping with the bookkeeping of our clients and their consumers and suppliers. Using Xero enabled me to see a “financial food-chain” by gaining a holistic view of how businesses in all ranges of industry operate, both functionally and financially.

 

One of my favorite projects during my internship involved completing monthly reconciliations. By using Xero, I helped with various clients’ monthly accounting and annual auditing needs by cross-checking bank statements and invoices/bills through the reconciliation process, ultimately producing usable financial statements. This process involves several different accounting methods including expense categorization, bank statement review, and line-item matching. All of these actions tested and grew my accounting knowledge.

 

Overall, my internship at Centre O and time in Hong Kong has been very memorable and I look forward to using my recent experiences as building blocks to help me take on life’s next career adventures!

 

All the Best,

 

Emily Knapp

EMILY KNAPP，在CENTER O 的会计实习生

.大家好！

我的名字是 Emily Knapp，在过去的两个月里，我一直在 Center O 担任会计和簿记实习生。我即将在德克萨斯州奥斯汀的德克萨斯大学开始我的第四年会计学习，在香港是为了提高我的技术技能，拓宽我的文化视野，体验一些只有在国外才能找到的冒险。

 

我在 Center O 的这段时间，无论是什么领域，我受到所有员工特别的教导和鼓励。 Center O 真诚对待员工，让我能够参与和交付的工作质量，帮助我发展了国际行业会计和国际工作文化的知识。

 

具体而言，在 Center O 工作让我更熟悉云端的会计和报告系统、创建管理账户的过程以及香港独特的税收制度。我学到了很多关于我们的会计系统 Xero 的知识，并看到了这个系统如何轻松地将 Center O 的簿记与我们的客户及其消费者和供应商的簿记集成在一起。通过使用 Xero，我可以全面了解各个行业的企业在功能和财务方面的运作方式，从而看到了“金融食物链”。

在实习期间我最喜欢的项目之一是完成每月的对账。通过使用 Xero，我通过对帐过程交叉检查银行对帐单和发票/账单，帮助满足各种客户的月度会计和年度审计需求，最终生成可用的财务报表。这个过程涉及了几种不同的会计方法，包括费用分类、银行对帐单审查和行项目匹配，所有这些工作都考验并增长了我的会计知识。

 

总的来说，我在Centre O的实习和在香港的时光非常难忘，我期待着用我最近的经历作为阻挡障碍的动力来帮助我进行人生的下一次职业冒险！

 

祝大家一切顺利

Emily Knapp

EMILY KNAPP，在CENTER O 的会计实习生

.大家好！

我的名字是 Emily Knapp，在过去的两个月里，我一直在 Center O 担任会计和簿记实习生。我即将在德克萨斯州奥斯汀的德克萨斯大学开始我的第四年会计学习，在香港是为了提高我的技术技能，拓宽我的文化视野，体验一些只有在国外才能找到的冒险。

 

我在 Center O 的这段时间，无论是什么领域，我受到所有员工特别的教导和鼓励。 Center O 真诚对待员工，让我能够参与和交付的工作质量，帮助我发展了国际行业会计和国际工作文化的知识。

 

具体而言，在 Center O 工作让我更熟悉云端的会计和报告系统、创建管理账户的过程以及香港独特的税收制度。我学到了很多关于我们的会计系统 Xero 的知识，并看到了这个系统如何轻松地将 Center O 的簿记与我们的客户及其消费者和供应商的簿记集成在一起。通过使用 Xero，我可以全面了解各个行业的企业在功能和财务方面的运作方式，从而看到了“金融食物链”。

在实习期间我最喜欢的项目之一是完成每月的对账。通过使用 Xero，我通过对帐过程交叉检查银行对帐单和发票/账单，帮助满足各种客户的月度会计和年度审计需求，最终生成可用的财务报表。这个过程涉及了几种不同的会计方法，包括费用分类、银行对帐单审查和行项目匹配，所有这些工作都考验并增长了我的会计知识。

 

总的来说，我在Centre O的实习和在香港的时光非常难忘，我期待着用我最近的经历作为阻挡障碍的动力来帮助我进行人生的下一次职业冒险！

 

祝大家一切顺利

Emily Knapp