A note on corporate social disclosure in Hong Kong

Abstract

Corporate Social Disclosure (CSD) goes beyond the numbers. CSD assumes that the corporation is not merely a maximizer of shareholder wealth but an active member of society. A ‘good corporate citizen’ embodies social goals in its strategic plan and makes public disclosure about progress in fulfilling these goals. European and American companies provide CSD regularly in their annual reports. Though most CSD studies focus on industrialised countries, Malaysia and Singapore have been examined recently (Andrew et al., 1989) and Malaysia separately (Teoh & Thong, 1989). In those jurisdictions, CSD disclosures were made by 26% of companies (mostly larger and foreign ones) in 1983. In Hong Kong, the disclosure rate is much lower. The purpose of this study is to expand our knowledge about CSD reporting and about Hong Kong's response to emerging international issues. The study is based on all (264) of the available 1989 annual reports of Hong Kong's public companies. Results show that Hong Kong has the lowest reported (only about 6%) rate of CSD of any jurisdiction. The lack of a consumer force, absence of independent political control and indigenous cultural attitudes may explain why CSD reporting is so scarce.