Welcome to the Companies Ordinance (“CO”) Rewrite homepage. This site provides information on the rewrite exercise which took place between 2006 and 2013. The new CO has come into operation on 3 March 2014.

In mid-2006, the Government launched a major and comprehensive exercise to rewrite the CO. By updating and modernising the CO, we aim to make it more user-friendly and facilitate the conduct of business to enhance Hong Kong's competitiveness and attractiveness as a major international business and financial centre.

Some key milestones of the rewrite exercise include:

• The Companies Bill was passed by Legislative Council and became the new CO. It was gazetted on 10 August 2012.

• 12 pieces of subsidiary legislation were made under the new CO between January and July of 2013.

• The Companies Ordinance (Commencement) Notice 2013 was published in the Gazette on 25 October 2013 to appoint 3 March 2014 as the commencement date of the new ordinance.

The new CO has come into operation on 3 March 2014. For the latest news on the implementation of the new CO, please visit the Companies Registry’s website .