Wednesday 13th April 2011
Dear Reader,
NEW ARTICLE
Traffic Truths
The Government's budget proposal on private car First Registration Tax is based
on a false premise, and will not achieve its stated objective of congestion
reduction. Our research shows that despite higher ownership, private cars occupy
less of the roadspace than they did in 2000. We call for a fundamental review of
road transport policy and make proposals to achieve a reduction in congestion
and road traffic pollution. (13-Apr-2011)
RECENTLY ON WEBB-SITE
HKEx adopts VAMPIRE
mandate
Webb-site is pleased to note that HKEx, seeking its
first general mandate in 7 years, is now complying with VAMPIRE limits of 5%
issued for cash and a maximum 5% discount. Having set an example, SEHK should
now amend the Listing Rules and bring the market up to international best
practice. HKEx has also unbundled amendments to the Articles of Association, and
is not repeating last year's fiasco. (29-Mar-2011)
Response to SEHK
on Corporate Governance Consultation
Webb-site
publishes a detailed response to the Exchange's consultation on the corporate
governance rules and code, including recommendations for fundamental reform and
the results of the opinion poll on INEDs. (25-Mar-2011)
IN OTHER NEWS
Webb on
"Backchat" re property
RTHK, 12-Apr-2011
Winnie Lo Wai Yan v HKSAR
HK Court of Final
Appeal, 7-Apr-2011
The solicitor jailed for "consipracy to commit
maintenance" is granted bail pending her final appeal.
LCQ: the competitiveness of the Hong Kong stock exchange
HK Government, 6-Apr-2011
Comment: nothing
prevents a "flash crash" in HK, and indeed we had a mini-version of this in HSBC
on 9-Mar-2009. There are no circuit-breakers on SEHK. Regarding trading spreads,
HKEx U-turned on that in 2007 and there has been no progress since then.
Pass it on!
This free newsletter goes to over 20,000 practitioners, issuers,
regulators and investors in Hong Kong's markets. If you enjoy Webb-site, then please
invite a friend to find out
what they are missing and subscribe! Visit our archives, and do your
homework before you invest.
Remember that, apart from our occasional articles, you can follow our daily updates on HK events via RSS, Twitter, or Facebook.
Copyright notice