The Companies Registry administers and enforces the greater part of the Companies Ordinance. The Registry incorporates local companies, registers overseas companies, registers documents required to be submitted by registered companies and provides facilities for search of company records. It also administers and enforces several other ordinances including the Trustee Ordinance, insofar as it relates to trust companies, the Registered Trustees Incorporation Ordinance and the Limited Partnerships Ordinance. The Registry is also responsible for a wide range of legal, policy and regulatory issues, including the ongoing work under the Companies Ordinance and corporate governance reviews.

    Since 1993, the Companies Registry has operated as a trading fund department. Therefore, the Registry can keep most of its income and apply it flexibly, having regard to its needs, business turnover and its customers' demands and expectations. The department achieved a surplus of $37.7 million in the 2001–02 financial year despite the overall economic downturn. The substantial surplus generated over the past years has protected the department from the adverse impact of the economic downturn and helped finance the department's development projects.

    The Registry has made good progress in implementing its Strategic Change Plan (SCP) to transform the department into a fully computerised Registry by late 2004 and enable electronic delivery of services in filing, processing, storing and searching documents or information. The implementation of the SCP will lead to a significant reduction in the time taken to process documents, more timely updating and disclosure of company information, improved quality of information, enhanced data security and integrity and higher productivity at reduced operating costs. The core initiative of the SCP is the development of an Integrated Companies Registry Information System (ICRIS) in two phases. The first phase will include the replacement of the existing computer systems, document imaging, and online searches on current data and digitised images of registered company documents kept in the Registry's database. The second phase will include the implementation of online document registration and company incorporation. Two tenders were invited in late 2001 for the development of Phase I of ICRIS for the Implementation of ICRIS and the Provision of Microfiche and Paper Document Conversion Services. The contracts were awarded in July 2002. It will take about 15 months to complete Phase I.

    In 2002, 46 554 new companies were incorporated. During the year, the total nominal capital of new companies registered was $17.30 billion and 5 591 companies increased their nominal capital by $141.26 billion. At year-end, 503 111 local companies were on the register, compared with 510 380 in 2001.

    Companies incorporated overseas must register certain documents with the Registry within one month of establishing a place of business in Hong Kong. During 2002, 700 of these were registered. At year-end, 6 710 companies from 81 countries were registered.