SHARE REGISTRAR HONG KONG

Our world-class share registry services ensure your organisation meets its compliance requirements while keeping shareholders engaged

Publicly listed entities are subject to intense scrutiny from both shareholders and regulatory bodies. They must also comply with industry regulations, such as the requirement for publicly listed companies in Hong Kong to designate a share registrar. Engaging a reputable share registry provider ensures your organisation meets all its regulatory obligations while keeping your shareholders involved and up to date.

Customised share registry support

BoardRoom’s team of client services managers can handle all your share registry needs, from assisting with your IPO to running shareholder meetings. To satisfy your regulatory requirements, we can also conduct proxy voting and manage shareholder records.

We understand that share registry support is not one-size-fits-all. Our expert team provides tailored advice from the start: this involves talking you through solutions that will best suit your organisation.

For the past 50 years, BoardRoom has continued to develop and refine its client service standards while servicing organisations across the Asia-Pacific region. By partnering with us, you benefit from our team’s comprehensive understanding of Hong Kong’s local rules and regulations, as well as our dedication to excellent client service.

Tailor-made share registry services
Our share registry services

Meet your share registry obligations

Satisfying all of your share compliance requirements without losing shareholder engagement can be expensive and challenging.

Engaging an established share registry provider ensures you stay compliant with local regulations while keeping shareholders involved and informed.

BoardRoom offers specialist expertise across multiple APAC regions. We also offer company secretarial, ESG reporting and consulting, employee stock options plan, accounting, payroll and tax services, making it easy for you to consolidate your professional services with one firm and streamline your administrative process as a result.

Our wide range of services are designed to support listed companies on the HKEX, SGX, ASX and Bursa, as well as unlisted entities, including proprietary companies, unlisted property trusts, equity funds and organisations thinking about an IPO. Renowned for their reliability, our share registry specialists work in close collaboration with you to achieve your goals.

Why choose a full-service share registrar?

In Hong Kong, appointing a share registrar is a compliance requirement for any listed entity. There are several factors to consider when selecting the best share registry provider for your organisation. If you choose a provider that offers a range of corporate services alongside share registry, you will be able to:

01

Create a more efficient operating model

Consolidating all your share registry needs with one provider reduces the administrative burden on your team. We can help with all your business functions, including registry, meeting services and also act as a polling agent for you, keeping your shareholders informed.

02

Strengthen your company's reputation

Your share registry services provider must align with your company goals and values while emulating your business profile, brand image and industry reputation. Set yourself up for success with a premium share registry provider.

03

Maintain local and cross-border compliance

Enlist a professional team to save you time and money with expert advice and support, helping guide you through local and regional compliance. Discover the additional benefits available to you through our local offices.

BoardRoom’s share registry services

BoardRoom can handle all your share registry needs. Whether you are a large-cap listed entity, listing on the GEM board or a private company seeking unlisted funds management, BoardRoom can support you in your share registry journey.

01 IPO support

Completing the IPO process is a significant accomplishment for any organisation. It can be a difficult undertaking, however, with most IPOs taking at least 6-18 months. Our expert team supports you at every stage, from early planning to listing on the HKEX.

As a premium share registrar in Hong Kong, BoardRoom provides a broad suite of benefits, such as:

Scrutineering services
Administration support

Our share registry team has the skill and expertise required to help your business thrive.

02 Corporate action services

After you have successfully taken your company public, you will need to secure more investment and capital. BoardRoom can assist with the facilitation and administration of your corporate actions and capital-raising efforts.

We can help with:

  • Dividend reinvestment plans;
  • Rights matters;
  • Share placement; and
  • Share allocation.

03 Share registry management and administration

By law, companies are required to maintain a correct, up-to-date register of their shareholders. BoardRoom teams are renowned for their knowledge of local statutory requirements and precision across their work output.

We can help with:

  • Maintaining share registers and other share registry services, including:
    • Listed securities
    • Bonds and warrants transfers for public companies (both listed and unlisted)
  • Registering shareholders’ shares and securities, and providing share certificates;
  • Managing and interacting with shareholders, including sending annual reports, circulars and appendices; and
  • Supporting the distribution and transfer of wealth and dividends for scrip holders.

04 Meeting coordination and scrutineering services

Holding smooth, professional annual general meetings (AGMs) and extraordinary general meetings (EGMs) is vital, whether your stakeholders attend:

  • In-person;
  • Digitally; or
  • Both in-person and digitally.

Digital meetings that offer hybrid attendance support your staff and stakeholders to join regular meetings no matter where they are located. This style of meeting is becoming popular where permitted, as more organisations adopt hybrid workplaces. BoardRoom can help coordinate digital meetings to make it easier for your stakeholders to take part in AGMs and EGMs.

No matter how your meetings are run, we can assist with:

  • Filing shareholder analytics and proxy forms;
  • Coordinating venue bookings and logistics for AGMs and EGMs;
  • Polling agent services, including:
    • Polling via digital or paper polls, and poll counting
  • Proxy voting; and
  • Independent scrutineering for AGMs and EGMs.

The BoardRoom difference

Because we help take your business further, faster, at all stages

Outsourcing your share registry duties can save you money, reduce your risk and raise shareholder value. It can do this while also ensuring your business meets all its share compliance requirements.

Over 50 years of providing quality client service, BoardRoom has grown to become one of APAC’s most highly sought-after share registrars.

Save time and money
Working with a premium share registry service enables you to manage your core business operations without having your staff attend to time-consuming administrative tasks. At BoardRoom, we’ll help guide you through the share registry process to reduce unnecessary burden on your team.
Access expert local and regional advice
Our team has extensive regional expertise in SGX, HKEX, ASX and BURSA stock exchange compliance. With dedicated client service teams in Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Australia, we can coordinate your share registry services, regardless of where you’re listed.
Easily maintain compliance
With expertise across multiple Asia-Pacific jurisdictions, we can help to reduce your administrative burden while lowering your risk of financial penalties and reputational damage for non-compliance.
Eliminate internal administration errors
Publicly listed and privately-owned companies must keep an accurate record of their shareholders and the shares they own by law. Our share registrars will manage and maintain this register for you, helping to eliminate any administration errors and avoid costly penalties.

Get in touch with our Shareholder Care experts today!

Jason U

Managing Director Asia, Share Registry Services and Employee Plans Services
Get in touch with our IPO Team:

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What are share registry services?

Share registry services include maintaining the record of company stocks, as well as running shareholder AGM meetings, running proxy votes, running various corporate actions (e.g. bonus issue, rights issue, etc.), assisting companies through their IPO process, and more. BoardRoom is a market leader in share registry services in Hong Kong and Asia Pacific. We will work with your company with tailor share registry solutions that bring the best value to your company and drive long-term success.

2. What does a share registrar do?

A share registrar is responsible for maintaining an up-to-date statutory record of registered shareholders who own company stocks and the number of shares owned at a specific date. Share registrars must comply with all the necessary legal compliance requirements of a public listed company in Hong Kong.

3. Why do I need a share registrar?

Publicly listed companies in Hong Kong are required to keep an accurate record of their shareholders as well as the shares they own. Share registrars are appointed to maintain and manage the shareholder register and listing of this data. By outsourcing to a share registrar like BoardRoom, this helps to reduce the administrative strain on the company’s internal resources. A share registrar also manages share transfers, all aspects of shareholder communications, all corporate actions and ensure the smooth running of an AGM meeting with shareholders and the Board of Directors.

4. How does an Initial Public Offering (IPO) work?

An Initial Public Offering (IPO) is the process in which a private company goes public and offers shares to the public in a new stock issuance on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (“Stock Exchange”). Companies do this by working with an IPO sponsor which are typically investment banks, as well as other professional parties including a share registrar like BoardRoom, to work through the necessary due diligence, pricing, transition, and more. Companies embark on an IPO listing as it can provide the company with access to new capital funding and greatly increase the rate at which they are able to grow and expand their business.

5. Why do you need a share registrar for IPO listing in Hong Kong?

The help of a share registrar during your IPO process cannot be understated. When a company decides to go for an IPO listing to raise capital from the public, it is mandatory for the company to appoint an experienced share registrar. The share registrar can help navigate the company through complex IPO listing requirements to ensure a smooth IPO process. After a successful IPO listing, the Hong Kong share registrar will be responsible for keeping a record of shareholders, the number of shares they have subscribed, and any transfer of shares/removal of shares throughout the IPO process.  Furthermore, after IPO, the appointed share registrar will accompany you to go through post-IPO listing life with the company.

6. When should I engage a share registrar in my initial public offering (IPO)?

A share registrar should be consulted before listing application submission to The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited for Main board or GEM listing. A share registrar familiar with the IPO process in Hong Kong will be able to put together a detailed plan for preparing your company for the IPO process. The guidance from a professional share registrar is invaluable as it helps to increase the chances for a successful IPO listing.

7. What is the purpose of an annual general meeting (AGM)?

An Annual General Meeting (AGM) is a yearly meeting that all Hong Kong companies, which usually have more than one member, must hold. In it, the business must update all the shareholders on the company’s current financial situation, presenting financial statements and giving them the opportunity to ask about the company’s performance. Shareholders can then vote at an AGM to make important decisions for the company, such as the appointment, or removal, of a director. For private entities with a small number of shareholders, the running of an AGM can be conducted internally. However, for public listed companies in Hong Kong, the scrutineers for AGM must be acted by qualified entities according to the Hong Kong Listed Rules. Appointing the share registrar to provide meeting services would be the best solution to reduce costs and ensure smooth running of the AGM.

8. Do annual general meeting (AGM) need to be conducted physically or virtually?

AGMs can be held in person at a venue, virtually through a live streaming service, or a combination of both otherwise known as hybrid AGMs. How the AGM is conducted depends on the terms defined in the company’s articles of association (Articles), or any other shareholders’ agreement, on whether the physical presence of shareholders is required at the annual general meeting.

If the physical presence of shareholders is required in the Articles, a physical AGM must be held, unless a special resolution is passed to remove such requirements. If the physical presence of shareholders is not required in the Articles, then a company can consider running an AGM virtually or using a hybrid approach.

9. How is an annual general meeting (AGM) organised?

Once a company has decided on the date of the AGM, the appointed share registrar will distribute the AGM notice and proxy forms to all shareholders notifying them of the location, time, and date of the meeting, and ensure that shareholders have a clear understanding of the contents of the AGM. In addition, a professional share registrar should provide shareholders with a dedicated point of contact, such as a telephone hotline or an email address to handle shareholders’ questions or inquiries regarding the upcoming AGM.

Part of BoardRoom’s share registry services is to ensure that the organisation and execution of AGMs are carried out seamlessly, and with clear communication and high shareholder satisfaction. Our share registry services team can also act as a scrutineer for AGM’s and conduct vote-taking and polling exercises.

10. What are shareholder or investor services?

Shareholder or investor services refer to the record keeping and administrative work provided by a third-party company like BoardRoom. Specific services include acting as a share/warrant/bond/unit registrar and transfer agent, meeting management (hybrid / virtual meeting) and scrutineer services, dividend and income distributions, shareholder communications, IPO services, and other corporate actions.

11. How can BoardRoom help with share registry services?

With experience providing companies across the APAC region share registry services, BoardRoom understands that there is no one-size-fits-all solution. We can help your business with running shareholder meetings, running proxy votes, guiding it through its IPO, serving as a share registrar and much more. We will tailor a personalised solution for your business to ensure it gets streamlined and efficient service. To get a better idea of how our share registry services could benefit your company in specific, reach out to us today.