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The third phase of Hong Kong's Corporate Inspection Regime
has now come into effect, which allows directors and other relevant
individuals to make an application to withhold their protected
personal information from public inspection.
This latest phase of the Inspection Regime commenced on 27 December
2023, having been initially introduced in 2021 amid concern over
the need to protect personal data, in particular the ease in which
personal information of directors and company secretaries can be
obtained from the Companies Register.
PROTECTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION
The new Inspection Regime under the Companies Ordinance (Cap
622) applies to Hong Kong incorporated companies and registered
non-Hong Kong companies, with the aim of enhancing protection of
sensitive information while maintaining transparency. Under the
previous regulations, the director or representative's
residential address and full identification number was publicly
accessible. Under the new regime, this protected information can be
replaced with correspondence addresses and partial ID
numbers.
After the initial phase allowed these details to be replaced by
companies on their own registers for public inspection, Phase 2
provided from 24 October 2022 that protected information contained
in documents filed for registration is not provided for public
inspection and is replaced with the correspondence addresses and
partial ID numbers. Specified Persons, such as a liquidator,
trustee, public officer, or other practising professional, may
still apply to the Registry for access to protected
information.
PHASE 3 – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
The implementation of Phase 3 now allows any director or
relevant person to apply to the Registry to disallow disclosure of
personal information within documents filed with the Registry
before the commencement of Phase 2. The personal information will
then be replaced with correspondence addresses and partial ID
numbers and Specified Persons will still be able to apply for
access.
The commencement of Phase 3 of the Corporate Inspection Regime does
not automatically protect such sensitive information on data
subjects that disclosed details to the registry prior to 24 October
2022. This information will remain available for public inspection
unless an application is made to prevent public disclosure, in
which case, correspondence addresses and partial ID numbers will be
displayed.
CORPORATE INSPECTION REGIME – NEXT STEPS
The Maples Group's fiduciary team in Hong Kong can make the
relevant applications to the Companies Registry to protect personal
and sensitive information for clients under the new Corporate
Inspection Regime. Our fiduciary professionals have expert
knowledge of the corporate and regulatory environment in Hong Kong,
interacting regularly with the Companies Registry, offering a range
of registration and incorporation services.
The Maples Group's presence in Hong Kong is well-established,
with over 300 employees since opening nearly 30-years ago. In 2020,
we moved to new larger premises in Hong Kong to facilitate the
Group's future growth. In addition to fiduciary services, we
provide a full suite of fund services from Hong Kong, as well as
time-zone sensitive Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands and
Irish legal services through our international law firm, Maples and
Calder.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.