Chartered Secretaries (Hong Kong)

Chartered Secretaries or Hong Kong Institute of Chartered Secretaries (HKICS) (Chinese: 香港特許秘書公會) is an independent professional body dedicated to the promotion of its members’ role in the formulation and effective implementation of good governance policies in Hong Kong and throughout China as well as the development of the profession of Chartered Secretary. Through its association with the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators(ICSA), HKICS also acts as the China Division of the worldwide institute.

History

HKICS was first established in 1949 as an association of Hong Kong members of ICSA of London. It became a branch of ICSA in 1990 before gaining local status in 1994 and today has more than 5,000 members and approximately 2,500 students

Mission

Promoting good governance, management and efficient administration of companies and other public bodies in commerce, industry and public affairs﹔ promoting the study of, and research into, the law and the practice of secretaryship and administration﹔supporting and protecting the character, status and interests of its members, graduates and students﹔promoting the efficiency and usefulness of the service and the standard of professional conduct provided by its members, and considering all manners of questions affecting the interest of the profession of Chartered Secretaries

Company secretary

A company secretary is a senior position in a private sector company or public sector organisation, normally in the form of a managerial position or above. In large American and Canadian publicly listed corporations, a company secretary is typically named a corporate secretary or secretary.

The company secretary is responsible for the efficient administration of a company, particularly with regard to ensuring compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements and for ensuring that decisions of the board of directors are implemented.

Despite the name, the role is not a clerical or secretarial one in the usual sense. The company secretary ensures that an organisation complies with relevant legislation and regulation, and keeps board members informed of their legal responsibilities. Company secretaries are the company’s named representative on legal documents, and it is their responsibility to ensure that the company and its directors operate within the law. It is also their responsibility to register and communicate with shareholders, to ensure that dividends are paid and to maintain company records, such as lists of directors and shareholders, and annual accounts.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong (香港; "Fragrant Harbour"), officially Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, is an autonomous territory on the southern coast of China at the Pearl River Estuary and the South China Sea. Hong Kong is known for its skyline and deep natural harbour. It has a land area of 1104 km² and shares its northern border with Guangdong Province of Mainland China. With around 7.2 million inhabitants of various nationalities, Hong Kong is one of the world's most densely populated metropolises.

After the First Opium War (1839–42), Hong Kong became a British colony with the perpetual cession of Hong Kong Island, followed by Kowloon Peninsula in 1860 and a 99-year lease of the New Territories from 1898. Hong Kong remained under British control for about a century until the Second World War, when Japan occupied the colony from December 1941 to August 1945. After the Surrender of Japan, the British resumed control. In the 1980s, negotiations between the United Kingdom and the China resulted in the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration, which provided for the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong on 30 June 1997. The territory became a special administrative region of China with a high degree of autonomy on 1 July 1997 under the principle of one country, two systems. Disputes over the perceived misapplication of this principle have contributed to popular protests, including the 2014 Umbrella Revolution.