Hong Kong should force publicly listed companies to disclose environmental violations in their operations in China, a report said Wednesday.
About 15 percent of firms listed in the financial centre have violated pollution regulations in mainland China, including famed beermaker Tsingtao Brewery Co., according to Beijing-based non-governmental organisation the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs.
"Tsingtao Brewery Co. Limited… was reported to have more than 20 environmental violation records in its operations across China from 2004 to 2009," said the report, co-authored with the Civic Exchange, a Hong Kong think-tank.
Entitled "Hong Kong's role in Mending the Disclosure Gap", the report said many of the companies found to have broken environmental regulations, such as exceeding wastewater discharge, were "repeat offenders."
But companies including PetroChina "failed to disclose subsidiaries' multiple environmental records, whether through annual or sustainability reports, or official websites," it said.
Neither PetroChina nor Tsingtao could be immediately reached for comment.
In a statement, Hong Kong's exchange said it was considering new disclosure rules that may require companies to disclose environmental violations.
But that issue was already taken into account for new listings "both from a disclosure point of view, and in terms of assessing an applicant's suitability for listing," it said.
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