Corporate Governance or Family Governance? Re-examining the Regulation of Family-Controlled Public Companies in Hong Kong

This article examines how the predominantly family-controlled public companies and their associated pyramidal ownership structures are monitored under Hong Kong's corporate governance regulatory framework. The study scrutinizes the state of corporate governance regulations in Hong Kong and observes that it suffers from inherent limitations in protecting minority shareholders from potential expropriation. The findings and subsequent analysis contribute to a better understanding of the underlying nature of the governance mechanism in Hong Kong by providing relevant rationale and justification that certain Western Anglo-Saxon mechanisms of market governance and control are ineffective in fostering good corporate governance practices of family-controlled public companies. The article concludes by proposing recommendations for the regulatory regime of Hong Kong to move forward and better safeguard the interests and rights of market participants, especially the minority shareholders.