Hong Kong has published draft legislation aimed at modernizing company law in the territory. The new Companies Bill includes a series of measures to improve corporate governance and strengthen shareholder rights.

Other key changes in the Bill are a clarification of directors' responsibilities and their duty of care and new disclosure requirements for companies. These include a requirement to publish a more detailed directors' report with an analytical and forward-looking business review.

The bill represents a fundamental overhaul of Hong Kong's company laws and has taken legislators four years to draft. It features a general modernization of existing provisions and measures aimed at making it easier to do business in Hong Kong.

The new laws should be enacted in the 2011-12 legislative session, said Hong Kong's secretary for financial services and the treasury, Professor K. C. Chan.

The bill will help to “foster Hong Kong's status as a major international business and financial center,” Chan said.