Money Matters | Why does HKSE stay mum on Energine’s choice of company secretary?
Au-yeung Keung manages to keep his job even though his accountancy registration has been removed for three years
How serious is Hong Kong about the role of a company secretary?
Serious enough to allow one to continue in the job two months after he was suspended from the accountants’ registrar for helping a listed company cheat, using his capacity as a company secretary?
On August 23, Au-yeung Keung was disciplined by the Hong Kong Institute of Public Certified Accountants, and had his registration removed for three years from September 16.
He still remains the company secretary of China Energine International (Holdings), a new-energy company owned by a subsidiary of China Aerospace Science &Technology Corp. that produces rocket launch vehicles. The company has not disclosed the disciplinary action against Au-yeung.
The penalty was related to the fraudulent transactions at Grand Field Group Holdings in 2002 and 2003 when Au-yeung was the company secretary and general manager of financial and commercial affairs at that company.
“He knowingly made or assisted in making misrepresentations or misleading statements to the stock exchange of Hong Kong, that an investment project in a gas pipeline business in 2002 was a genuine one when he knew it was not,” said the accountancy body.
