Sarbanes-Oxley Act - Impact on Hong Kong and China companies

Those who view corporate misconduct as one of the causes of the United States economy's downturn hope the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the "Act") will serve as s a bitter pill that might cure this presumed breakdown in the U.S. corporate governance environment. The objective of the Act is to enhance public trust in the integrity of financial reporting, partly through increased management accountability. The Act covers a broad range of governance matters, from financial statement certification to providing protection for whistleblowers. The Act's far-reaching implications to non-U.S. jurisdictions have raised concerns amongst government authorities, companies and certain industry groups.