《1865年香港公司条例》与近代外商在华公司制度之嬗变

“Companies Ordinance,1865” and the Evolution of the Modern Foreign Enterprise System in China

近代早期外商在华企业尤其是公司制企业的设立,有一个合法性问题。为了维护英商在华利益,解决英商在华公司的注册问题,同时满足部分外商希望获得治外法权庇护的需要,1865年港英政府倚仗香港殖民地的特殊身份,以1862年英国本土开始施行的《股份公司法》为模版,颁布实施《1865年香港公司条例》。该条例对公司制度作了颇为详实的规定。《1865年公司条例》的颁布与实施,不仅为外商在华公司法人资格的确立提供了便利和可能,规范了近代中国境内外商公司的创设与运营,而且促进了外商公司制企业尤其是股份有限公司制企业大规模兴起,推动了外商公司的制度建设与产业发展。

As for the establishment of early modem foreign enterprises, particularly the company enterprises in China, there was a legitimacy problem. In order to safeguard British businessmen＇s interests in China, to solve the registration problem of the company＇s, hoping to meet some foreign extraterritorial asylum needs, implementing the ＂Stock Corporation Act, 1862＂, the British Hong Kong government promulgated ＂Companies Ordinance, 1865＂ with special identity of Hong Kong in 1865. This Ordinance made quite detailed provisions about enterprise founded and registered , equity shares , stock trading and the capital increasing, business Managers, company liquidations and so on. The implementation of the regulations, not only for the establishment of the legal personality of foreign companies in China, provided a convenience and possibility to standardize the creation and operation of modem China with foreign companies, and promoted the foreign corporate enterprises especially Corporation Enterprises to rise in a large scale, also gave impetus to the construction and development of the foreign-enterprise system and Industrial economy.