A comparative study of the corporate regulators in Australia and Hong Kong

This article compares the differences between the corporate regulators in Australia and Hong Kong (HK). The focus of the discussion is primarily on the availability of the regulator to impose administrative sanctions to encourage compliance with corporate regulation. A brief overview of the historical development of corporate law will be given, which will show that although historically both Australian and HK law were derived from the law of the United Kingdom, the two jurisdictions have diverged significantly, especially in terms of the statutory powers of the public corporate regulator. This article will primarily consider the power of the Australian corporate regulator to impose administrative sanctions, such as infringement notices and enforceable undertakings, and evaluate the reasons why such sanctions were not considered in the most recent amendments to HK's corporate law. It will be concluded that should HK consider expanding the role of its public regulator, perhaps the statutory safeguards built into the UK model would be preferable to those which Australia has adopted.