Approval of Trustees 受託人的核准

Approval and Corporate Financial Requirements 核准與公司財政要求

Any company or individual proposing to act as trustee of an MPF scheme must apply to the MPFA for approval. Offshore companies are also covered: permission to conduct trust business overseas does not itself authorise them to act as MPF trustees.

The general corporate financial requirements contain two separate thresholds: paid-up share capital of at least HK$150 million and net assets of at least HK$150 million. Both must be met; their combined amount is insufficient as a test.

For example, a company with HK$180 million in paid-up share capital but only HK$120 million in net assets fails the general financial test. Meeting both financial thresholds also leaves the other approval criteria to be satisfied.

Corporate Personnel, Capability and Hong Kong Presence 公司的人員、工作能力及香港規模

Suitability first concerns reputation and character: every director and the chief executive officer of the corporate trustee must have a good reputation and character. Assessing only the chief executive officer or the independent director would leave this requirement incomplete.

There is a separate expertise requirement. The chief executive officer and a majority of directors must have sufficient skills, knowledge and expertise in administering provident fund schemes, and that majority must include an independent director. Distinguish the reputation and character test for all directors from the specified expertise test for the chief executive officer and a majority of directors.

Operational capability and Hong Kong presence and control are also separate considerations. The company needs the ability to run an MPF administration business, proper internal control procedures, and sufficient presence and control in Hong Kong; adequate capital cannot replace these requirements.

Additional Requirements for Offshore Corporate Trustees 離岸公司受託人的額外要求

An offshore corporate trustee must satisfy additional criteria alongside the general corporate approval requirements. One is supervision by an offshore authority acceptable to the MPFA; the existence of an overseas supervisor does not establish that the MPFA accepts it.

The standards of the local trust and company laws must also be comparable to those in Hong Kong. These additional checks address both supervision and legal protection so that scheme members receive the same degree of protection.

Individual Trustees and Performance Guarantees 個人受託人與履行職能擔保

An individual trustee is a natural person. The person must ordinarily reside in Hong Kong and have a good reputation and character, and at least two individual trustees must be appointed under such an arrangement. Extensive experience does not allow one person to meet the minimum-number requirement alone.

An individual trustee must provide a performance guarantee through an insurance policy or a bank guarantee. It covers losses caused by failure to perform duties or another breach of duties; a personal promise to pay does not replace either specified form.

The guarantee is calculated at 10% of the scheme's net asset value, capped at HK$10 million: use the lower of the calculated amount and the cap. A net asset value of HK$60 million therefore requires HK$6 million, while a net asset value of HK$160 million produces a capped requirement of HK$10 million.