Dear Companies Registry,

1. I would like to obtain documents (i.e. policies, procedures, manuals, specific references to legislations) clarifying your office's obligations and powers to regulate money lenders.

2. I would like to know which departments of your office are responsible for: (i) receiving complaints against moneylenders; (ii) investigating potential violations of the Money Lenders Ordinance (Cap. 163) ("MLO"); (iii) investigating potential violations of the Money Lenders Regulations ("MLR"); (iv) investigating potential violations of the Licensing Conditions of Money Lenders ("Licensing Conditions"); (v) forwarding cases to the Department of Justice for advice; and (vi) objecting to money lenders licenses through the magistrates courts.

3a. I would like to know the replies of money lenders in response to the surveys sent to them by your office (regarding loan statistics and borrower information). If personal privacy is of concern, I would like to receive a summary or disaggregated statistics of those replies.
3b. Specifically, I would like to know: (i) the number and amount of loans granted to borrowers with an income below HKD5,000 per month; and (ii) the number and amount of loans granted to foriegn domestic helpers.

4. Are there are regular trainings for staff of your office regarding issues relating to the MLO, MLR, Licensing Conditions, and new issues in those respect. If so, how frequest are the trainings? Are they mandatory or optional?

5. Are there mechanisms in place for complainants to make statements against money lenders (particularly for foreign domestic workers)? If so, is it possible for foreign domestic workers to schedule an appointment to make a statement with your office on weekends with interpretation assistance?

Yours faithfully,

Charlie

Dear Companies Registry,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Companies Registry's handling of my FOI request 'Policies regarding the regulation of money lenders'.

The response to my request is long overdue. By law, under all circumstances, the CR should have provided at least an interim response by now. I seek that a substantive response to my request be given as soon as practicable. I also seek reasons for the delay.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://accessinfo.hk/en/request/policie...

Yours faithfully,

Charlie