Hong Kong Regulations

MANDATORY PROVIDENT FUND SCHEMES (GENERAL) REGULATION - SECT 17

Eligibility requirements for company incorporated outside Hong Kong

Caution: This is a past version. See the current version here.

(1) If an applicant is a company incorporated outside Hong Kong-

   (a)  the applicant must be a company to which Part XI of the
        Companies Ordinance ( Cap 32) applies, and whose name includes the
        word

"trust" or "trustee" if the name is in English, or the words "信託" or
"受託人" if the name is in Chinese; and

   (b)  the objects of the company must contain some of, but not more than,
        those specified in section 81 of the Trustee Ordinance ( Cap 29); and

   (c)  the company must have at least 5 directors and all of the directors of
        the company must be natural persons; and

   (d)  the applicant must satisfy the Authority as to the matters specified
        in subsection (2).

(2) The following matters are specified for the purposes of subsection (1)(d)-

   (a)  the applicant is incorporated or registered in a jurisdiction where
        there are in force laws relating to corporations and trusts and that
        those laws are comparable to those of Hong Kong;

   (b)  the applicant is adequately regulated under those laws and is
        adequately supervised by an authority established in that jurisdiction
        that is acceptable to the Authority;

   (c)  that authority certifies to the Authority that the applicant is in
        good standing and has not contravened any requirement under the laws
        relating to corporations or trusts in force in that jurisdiction;

   (d)  the business of the applicant is limited to trust business;

   (e)  the applicant has experience in conducting business internationally,
        and standing as an international financial institution, that are
        acceptable to the Authority.

(3) The applicant must designate one of its controllers to be its Hong Kong
chief executive officer. The Hong Kong chief executive officer-

   (a)  must be a natural person; and

   (b)  must, either alone or with others, be immediately responsible to the
        directors of the company for the conduct of the whole of the
        applicant's business in Hong Kong.

(4) The applicant must satisfy the Authority-

   (a)  that all of the controllers of the applicant are persons of good
        reputation and character and, in particular, have not been found
        guilty, whether in Hong Kong or elsewhere, of an offence involving
        fraud or dishonesty; and

   (b)  that the chief executive officer, the Hong Kong chief executive
        officer and a majority of the directors (which must include an
        independent  director) of the applicant have the skill, knowledge,
        experience and qualifications that are, in the opinion of the
        Authority, necessary for the successful administration of provident
        fund schemes.

(5) The applicant must comply with the prescribed capital adequacy 
requirements.

(6) The applicant must have sufficient presence and control in Hong Kong.

(7) An applicant has sufficient presence and control in Hong Kong if-

   (a)  the applicant complies with subsection (8); and

   (b)  it has sufficient expertise and management resources in Hong Kong to
        conduct its business operations effectively; and

   (c)  the Hong Kong chief executive officer of the applicant ordinarily
        resides in Hong Kong.

(8) An applicant complies with this subsection if-

   (a)  the applicant's day to day business activities relating to the
        applicant's business in Hong Kong (including the keeping of its
        records relating to those activities) are conducted wholly in Hong
        Kong; or

   (b)  where those activities are not conducted wholly in Hong Kong-

        (i)    those activities are adequately supervised by the applicant
               from within Hong Kong; and

        (ii)   sufficient records of those activities are kept at a place or
               places so that those records can be readily accessible in Hong
               Kong to enable an audit of them to be carried out.

(9) The applicant must satisfy the Authority that it is capable of carrying on
a business of administering registered schemes.

(10) For the purpose of subsection (9), the Authority may enter and inspect
the premises intended to be used by the applicant for carrying on the business
of administering registered schemes.

(11) The Authority may refuse the application of an applicant who fails to
allow the Authority to enter and inspect the premises referred to in
subsection (10).

(12) The applicant must enter into a written undertaking with the Authority
that the applicant, and all transactions relating to the administration by the
applicant in Hong Kong of provident fund schemes and all disputes arising out
of those transactions, will be governed by the law of Hong Kong.