Public Companies and their Equity Securities

The Hong Kong securities market is a significant international market, ranking sixth in the world in terms of capitalization. This important new work presents a comprehensive and critical examination of the laws and norms regulating listed companies, their equity securities and other participants in this market. Four major themes, highlighting the difficulties in making Anglo-American corporate and securities laws fit fundamentally different markets, underlie the author''s analysis. First, to ensure investor protection, corporate law and securities regulations have to be formulated as one integral law. Second, rules of corporate governance prevailing in Anglo-Saxon jurisdictions have to be adapted to Hong Kong''s different corporate structures. Third, particular attention must be paid to problems of enforcement given the difficulties inherent in a self-regulatory regime and the absence of a contingency fee system. Fourth, specific solutions are required to address the problems posed by internationalization. This critical analysis is of significant comparative interest and provides essential reading for corporate and securities lawyers in Asia and throughout the world.