A Director's Duty of Loyalty and the Relevance of the Company's Scope of Business: Cheng Wai Tao v Poon Ka Man Jason

Abstract

The Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal has utilised a ‘scope of business’ inquiry to delineate the boundaries of the no-conflict rule for the company director. Such an inquiry is directed at discerning the realistic ability of the company to exploit any particular business opportunity and a strict capacity approach is eschewed, at least where the no-conflict rule is concerned. The decision is premised on a bifurcation between the no-conflict and no-profit rules, suggesting that the tests to determine breach of these fiduciary rules are not necessarily the same, thus permitting a more nuanced consideration of directorial breaches.