SFC issued a bulletin regarding issues relating to the Codes on Takeovers, Mergers and Share Buybacks (the
Takeovers Code), which includes the following highlights:
Identifying All Relevant Regulatory Approvals for Completion of Offers
SFC reminded offerors, offeree companies and their respective advisers that sufficient and thorough due diligence should be conducted at the outset of a transaction so that all regulatory approvals required for the completion of offers are identified early and disclosed appropriately in line with Rule 3.5(e) of the Takeovers Code. Failure to do so can cause numerous problems, for example, unnecessary delays in the offer timetable or locking up shareholder shares pending regulatory approvals (where discovered and disclosed after the shareholders have accepted an offer). Furthermore, if a particular regulatory approval is not specifically disclosed in the firm intention announcement, SFC may not allow such condition to be invoked under Note 2 to Rule
2. PROPOSED RE-ELECTION OF RETIRING DIRECTORS In accordance with Bye-law 87 of the Bye-laws, Dr. Lui King Man, Mr. Cui Liguo and Mr. Lim Toon shall retire at the Annual General Meeting. All of the above retiring Directors, being eligible, will offer themselves for re-election at the Annual General Meeting. Dr. Lui King Man and Mr. Cui Liguo, who have been serving as Independent Non-executive Directors of the Company for more than 9 years, have confirmed their independence with reference to the factors set out in Rule 3.13 of the Listing Rules. The Company considers Dr. Lui and Mr. Cui are still independent in accordance with the independence guidelines set out in the Listing Rules and will continue to bring valuable business experience, knowledge and professionalism to the Board for its efficient and effective functioning.
Despite a tough period for businesses in Hong Kong the introduction of a corporate rescue procedure remains elusive, says Johnson Kong, Managing Director at BDO Hong Kong
Not all jurisdictions offer companies the breathing space in which to restructure while keeping creditors at bay. In Hong Kong, for example, although recommended by the Law Reform Commission back in 1996, the introduction of a corporate rescue procedure called “provisional supervision” is still in the making.
Under administration in the UK – or Chapter 11 in the US – restructuring can take place with a moratorium on legal action. However, such mechanisms are currently out of reach in Hong Kong. Despite several promising first steps, they remain elusive, says Johnson Kong, Managing Director at BDO Hong Kong, an ICAEW Fellow and the Immediate Past President of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants (HKICPA).
CHAIRMAN S STATEMENT Dear Shareholders, I would like to thank all Shareholders of Weimob Inc. for their firm trust and support in 2020. 2020 was a year full of challenges and opportunities for the Company. Amid the global economic shock of the COVID-19 epidemic, we swung for the fences and seized the opportunities brought by the epidemic to develop online digital economy, and provided a digital business operating system for customers to facilitate their digital operations. By formulating the Group s strategy of moving up-market (「大客化」), ecosystem build-up (「生態化」) and globalization (「國際化」), we achieved rapid growth against the trend in spite of the impact of the epidemic in our two core businesses, Digital Commerce and Digital Media.
Across the globe organisations are setting ambitious targets for carbon reduction. But how does an energy company translate those targets into action? Hong Kong’s CLP Group knows exactly what pathway it is on.
The CLP Group is an Asia Pacific-focused investor-owned power business with investments in Hong Kong, Mainland China, India, Southeast Asia, Taiwan and Australia. The group’s assets span energy retail, transmission and distribution, power generation, energy storage portfolio and smart energy services. Nicholas Allen is an Independent Non-executive Director of CLP Holdings and an ICAEW Fellow, as well as a Member of The Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He says the company first took baby steps along a carbon reduction pathway more than a decade ago with the release in 2007 of Climate Vision 2050.