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承让及关连交易

香港联交所规则设法防止上市发行人的关连人士利用其职位取得利益。关连交易可以是一次过的交易(上市发行人适用),也可以是持续交易(上市发行人及新申请人均适用)。两种交易各须遵守不同的规则。上市发行人必须就所有关连交易与有关人士订立书面协议。

关连交易须遵守汇报、披露及独立股东批准规定。若干情形下亦有必要设立独立董事委员会,并委任独立财务顾问,以就交易是否公平及合理以及是否从整体上符合股东权益向股东提出建议。香港联交所规则提供一系列豁免,包括若交易低于若干规模规定的情形。有关关连交易更深度的描述,请参照我们有关关连交易的文章。

上市矿业公司(及潜在上市申请人)与关连人士签署承让合同并非不常见。该等情形下的关连人士通常有对矿业公司进行战略投资,及为矿业公司产品的终端用户。持有矿业公司10%或以上股份的投资者将被视为关连人士。

矿业公司就关连交易正常情况下所需的汇报、披露及独立股东批准规定,可向香港联交所提出豁免申请。香港联交所将审查有关上限及承让合同拟持续的期间,然后决定是否授予豁免。豁免有可能不涵盖该协议的整个期间(尤其是矿山承让期间),而在若干阶段将须作出进一步披露及独立股东批准。

“照付不议”条款的可执行性

承让合同经常包括“照付不议”条款。一般而言,照付不议条款将规定,若买方不能购买预先协定的最低产品数量,则买方仍须对预先协定的最低产品数量进行付款。某些司法管辖区的法律不允许执行对违约方施加惩罚的合同条款。在这方面,某个特定条款是否构成算定损害赔偿(通常允许)或惩罚条款(某些司法管辖区不允许),须作出重要区分。决定照付不议条款是否构成惩罚条款的有关因素包括以下:

  • 照付不议条款是否在商业上有正当理由;
  • 照付不议条款的首要目的是否是阻止合同违约;
  • 各方是否享有同等的议价权力

某些情形下,照付不议条款可被认为是惩罚条款而不能被执行。起草照付不议条款时,应给予慎重考虑。尤其是,该等条款应在商业上有正当理由,并且其首要目的不是阻止合同违约。

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