Faster track: Registrar of Companies Ada Chung says the Companies Registry will launch electronic incorporation of firms in the next financial year.

The Companies Registry will launch electronic incorporation of companies in the next financial year, cutting the time required to incorporate a company online from four working days to less than one.

Speaking at a press briefing today, Registrar of Companies Ada Chung also proposed streamlining the company name registration system. The Registrar of Companies will be empowered to substitute the names of companies which fail to comply with the registrar's directions with registration numbers.

In collaboration with the Inland Revenue Department, it will also implement a one-stop service for company incorporation and business registration. Applicants will then be able to incorporate companies and obtain business registration certificates simultaneously. Those applying online will be able to complete the whole process within the same day.

Amendments to the Companies Ordinance and the Business Registration Ordinance are required before the new initiatives can be implemented, hopefully next year, Ms Chung said.

The legislative amendments to the Companies Ordinance also cover initiatives to let local firms to communicate with their members through websites, providing a basis for multiple statutory derivative actions and removing statutory restrictions for scripless shareholding and paperless transfers.

As at August 31 a total of 751,159 live local companies were registered under the Companies Ordinance. A record high of 20,251 companies were incorporated in March this year, and another record of 12,594 companies were incorporated in August.

Ms Chung believes this is due mainly to the effect of the business registration fee waiver for new companies.