In accordance with the schedule set out in the Insurance (Levy) Order under the Insurance Ordinance  , starting from 1 April 2021, the premium levy rate would be adjusted from 0.085% to 0.1% of the insurance premium per policy year.  The levy cap would be adjusted from HK$85 to HK$100 for life insurance policies,  and from HK$4,250 to HK$5,000 for general insurance policies.

Save for a few types of policies exempted by law, policy holders of all new or in-force life insurance policies and general insurance policies have to pay the levy together with their premium payment. The Insurance Authority (IA) collects the premium levies from policy holders through the insurance companies.  The levies, together with other fees collected by the IA, are used to finance the IA’s operations.

For more information, please refer to the IA’s website.

On 16 April 2021, our Partner Desmond Yu and Associate Iris Cheng delivered a webinar titled “Internal Investigation in the Context of Regulatory Process” organized by The Hong Kong Federation of Insurers for its members.

Desmond and Iris shared on important issues relating to internal investigations, experience stories on the topic, and tips on planning and conducting effective internal investigations in the context of the current insurance regulatory regime, under the Insurance Ordinance.  The nearly 300 participants reacted positively and generally considered the sharing “very useful”.

Our client bulletin for March 2021 covers the following topics:

• Forget Me (Not);
• Handling Termination Notices Given by Employees When Emotions Are High;
• A Recent Case on Delisting – Rule 6.01A of the Main Board Listing Rules; and
• Disclosing Identity of Counterparties in Transactions of Listed Issuers – Amendment to Rule 14.58 of the Listing Rules.

Please click here to view the bulletin.

Our Partner Nathan Dentice presented a talk for City University Hong Kong titled “The China Forestry Holdings Case – A Look at International Local Regulatory and Compliance Practice” on 4 February 2021.

Nathan explained the fraud and the regulatory disputes that have arisen as a consequence, for the purposes of introducing students to the work involved in the regulatory and compliance area in Hong Kong.

MinterEllison sponsored the Fresh Fish Traders’ School’s (FFTS) Chinese New Year Card Design Competition 20/21. We have sponsored this annual event for over a decade as a continuing community investment, and we have been using the winning design for our Chinese New Year card.

On 22 January 2021, our Partner Katherine U attended the awards ceremony held at FFTS, and presented the award to the Champion Yip Ka Yan, Angel, a 9-year-old from class 4A. Our Community Investment Committee members Thomas Sham, Caroline Xu, Kennis Cheung, Peter Wat, Eric Yeung and Maggie Chow also joined the ceremony.