Former secretary for economic development and labour Stephen Ip Shu-kwan has been cleared by an advisory committee to take up an appointment as a non-executive director.
Mr Ip, who was not reappointed in the cabinet reshuffle last July, will take up his post at Yangtze China Investment, a start-up company investing in listed companies, the operations of which are based principally on the mainland, according to a government statement yesterday.
Former politically appointed officials are required to wait at least a year before taking up commercial posts to avoid conflicts of interest, although exceptions can be made if cleared by an advisory committee chaired by Mr Justice Pang Kin-kee, which also includes executive councillor Henry Fan Hung-ling.
'In considering the case, the advisory committee noted that Mr Ip's previous official dealings in the government were not related to the proposed appointment,' the statement said.
'As such, the advisory committee considered that the proposed appointment should not cause the company to gain unfair advantage over its competitors, nor should it cause potential conflict of interests.'
Two other former officials have also been cleared by the committee since last July.