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A company secretary is an officer responsible for the company / corporation. Some of the company secretaries are certified by the Institute of Chartered Secretaries in Hong Kong. The individual will be a gatekeeper for the firm and make sure that the Hong Kong company is fully compliant from a corporate governance point of view under the statutory laws of the Hong Kong Companies Ordinance and the government. Although it can be often overlooked, the company secretary is a key role with important responsibilities. Read more information from our website here.

To appoint a company secretary that complies with the regulations of the Companies Registry, we have to understand that there are different requirements for company secretaries for different types of companies:

For private companies, the company secretary can be a natural person or a corporate body that has a Trust or Company Service Provider Licence. The individual does not have to be a Hong Kong resident, but he or she has to ordinarily reside in Hong Kong. If you’re using a body corporate as your company secretary, the registered address of that corporate must be in Hong Kong. The sole director of a private company must not also be the company secretary.

Public companies or companies limited by guarantee must have a company secretary and at least two directors, one of whom may be the company secretary.

For non-listed Hong Kong companies, there is no requirement for qualification for company secretaries.

For listed companies, the company secretary has to be a qualified accountant, chartered secretary, lawyer or hold some other qualifications that show the candidate has the ability to handle the duties of a company secretary.

Corporate governance in Hong Kong involves paying attention and respecting the interest of a company’s key stakeholders while achieving a company’s objectives. It is a body of rules and process determining the structure of a company. It is the company secretary’s role to make sure that structure is consistently carried out.

Outsourcing your company’s secretarial duties is a great way to save time and money. Especially for foreign entrepreneurs living outside of Hong Kong, such as in Australia or China, the process of registering and up-keeping of a company in Hong Kong can be challenging and time consuming. Sleek’s services can help maintain the business and fulfil the mandatory laws of a Hong Kong company under the Hong Kong Companies Ordinance, while saving cost on headcount and potential Hong Kong office address. Contact us if you’re interested or need any assistance.

After incorporation, the Company Ordinance requires every limited company to have a company secretary in Hong Kong for complying with the government and company laws. The appointed person needs to reside in Hong Kong full time, with responsibilities such as preparing for general meetings, maintaining the annual requirements for the firm, as well as defining and updating the duties of each shareholder and director. The company secretary is also responsible for communicating with government agencies when they reach out to the company.

The company secretary takes care of all matters of the company in order to comply with the regulations of the Companies Ordinance. Their responsibilities depend on the company’s size and nature of business.

Here are the main duties of a company secretary:

• Organizing and attending all meetings
• Advice the company on corporate governance
• Checking the information in statutory books
• Filing statutory returns
• Complying with the statutory requirements
• Updating shares transfer
• Handling other administrative matters

The designated company secretary’s duties include being responsible for regulating the company operations and corporate governance. Others include preparing for the First Board Resolution, providing assistance in the Annual General Meeting, renewal of the Business Registration Certificate documents, as well as informing the directors and members of the listed company on any changes.

Since the company secretary handles a wide range of duties for your company, it is important to find a company secretary that has the following qualities:

Knowledgeable
A company secretary has to perform duties beyond normal secretaries. He or she should have a set of knowledge and experience regarding corporate governance and company compliance. If you’re hiring a corporate body as your company secretary, you must ensure that the company holds a Trust or Company Service Provider Licence like Sleek.

Organized
From annual general meeting minutes, billings to important mails from the bank or the government agencies, the company secretary has to keep records of a large amount of documents and important details for the company. It is important that the candidate is highly organized and capable of filing important documents neatly so that the company can refer back to respective folders easily.

Responsible
Duties such as renewal of the business registration certificate and submitting the right documents to the Companies Registry and Inland Revenue Department are a must in order to avoid penalties. The company secretary must understand the importance of submitting relevant documents on time to ensure a smooth operation for the company.

Professional
The company secretary has to represent the company to communicate with government agencies such as the Companies Registry and Inland Revenue Department. They have to remain professional when they respond to emails or phone calls on behalf of the company.

At Sleek, we offer company secretarial services that you can trust. Contact us if you’re looking for a company secretary that possesses all the above qualities.

Since the company secretary takes care of a lot of important duties for your company, you may need to consider changing your company secretary if you face the following problems:

• He or she charges you hidden fees
• Billings are delivered late
• Billings are incorrect
• Business Registration Certificate not renewed on time
• Fail to submit documents on time
• Fail to file returns on time

These common problems would greatly hinder the daily operations of your company and even violate the regulations of the Hong Kong Companies Ordinance. Failure to accurately handle government filings may result in government penalties. As an entrepreneur, the efficiency and accuracy of your administrative matters are vital to keeping your business running smoothly.

You may want to appoint another company secretary if you encounter the aforementioned issues with your current company secretary.

Thank you for choosing Sleek as your new secretarial service provider! It is not uncommon to change your company secretary, and the process is simple. Before you leave your current service provider and transfer to Sleek, you need first get in touch with us to carry out a series of KYCx (Know Your Customer) process. After the approval, we will require you to notify your current service provider of the determination.

Sleek offers not only secretarial services for companies but also a registered address for your company. Read about the entire process and the details of our services from our website here for more advice and switch to Sleek’s seamless services today!