HONG Kong shareholders need a new deal to protect their interests from directors who put personal gain above corporate responsibility. However, the unique family style of control in the territory means that importing outside systems is unlikely to provide a solution. The possibility of finding sufficient independent outside directors to form a workable remuneration committee for a meaningful number of Hong Kong companies is remote. But the last resort of taking legal action against directors suspected of overstepping their authority is beyond the means of most individual shareholders. Action should now be taken to make directors' pay packets much more transparent, so that remuneration can be accurately assessed. The Sincere case has stamped ''Most Urgent'' on this issue.
