The Code of Conduct entitled “Carrying out Procurement for Clients and Prevention of Bid-rigging” issued by the Property Management Services Authority (PMSA) pursuant to Section 5(1) of the Property Management Services Ordinance (Cap. 626) will be gazetted and take effect tomorrow. The PMSA has also prepared the respective Best Practice Guide in order to allow property management company (PMC) and property management practitioner (PMP) licensees to comply with the guidelines stipulated in the Code of Conduct for carrying out procurement more effectively and professionally.
The PMSA Chairperson Mr Tony TSE said, “As PMC and PMP licensees may carry out procurement of goods and services for clients from time to time, the PMSA aims to provide clear practical guidance for the industry on carrying out procurement and prevention of bid-rigging through promulgation of the Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guide to ensure that goods or services procured are “value for money”, thereby protecting the interests of property owners and preventing improper acts during the procurement process such as bias towards certain bidders, bid-rigging or other anti-competitive acts, etc., as well as minimising the risk of disputes among owners, owner organisations and PMCs.”
The Code of Conduct “Carrying out Procurement for Clients and Prevention of Bid-rigging” stipulates that licensees shall comply with the Building Management Ordinance (Cap. 344) (BMO) and the Code of Practice on Procurement of Supplies, Goods and Services issued under the BMO when carrying out procurement for clients. Moreover, licensees shall prevent the occurrence of anti-competitive conduct including bid-rigging during the procurement process. The Code covers the following aspects:
- Code of conduct for procurement for PMCs and its employees;
- Bidding for service contracts by PMCs;
- Raising PMC employees’ awareness in respect of procurement and establishing internal procedures in PMCs;
- Establishing procurement mechanisms by PMCs;
- Carrying out procurement by petty cash;
- Carrying out procurement by quotation;
- Carrying out procurement by tender;
- Preparing tender documents;
- Avoiding unnecessary communication between potential suppliers/tenderers;
- Assessing tender;
- Incorporating protection clauses in contract;
- Keeping records of procurement; and
- Reporting contravention of procurement procedures and bid-rigging.
The PMSA formulated this Code of Conduct and its respective Best Practice Guide in consultation with the PM industry, owner organisations, the Home Affairs Department, the Competition Commission, the Independent Commission Against Corruption and the Consumer Council. The feedback collected from the consultation has been appropriately reflected in the Code of Conduct and the Best Practice Guide.
The above Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guide can be downloaded from the following PMSA webpage:
https://www.pmsa.org.hk/en/regulatory/codes-of-conduct
Since the implementation of the PM industry licensing regime, the PMSA has already issued a total of 10 Codes of Conduct and their relevant Best Practice Guides, including “General Code of Conduct”, “Complaint Handling Mechanism of Property Management Companies”, “Effective Control over Property Management Business by Property Management Companies”, “Handling Moneys Received on behalf of Clients by Property Management Companies”, “Obligations of Property Management Companies regarding the Ending of their Appointment”, “Prevention of Corruption”, “Prescribed Conditions on Licences”, “Protection on Personal Data”, “Handling Payment for or Arranging Payment to be Made by Clients” and “Provision of Prescribed Information and Financial Documents to Clients”.
The PMSA will continue to issue other Codes of Conduct and Best Practice Guides timely, covering different PM areas in order to provide guidance to the industry, including but not limited to the following:
- Handling Emergencies;
- Scaffolding Works to be Carried Out at Property;
- Prevention of Corruption – Financial Management;
- Prevention of Corruption – Monitoring Outsourced Property Management Services;
- Prevention of Corruption – Staff Recruitment and Management;
- Handling Instrument of Appointing a Proxy; and
- Mechanism of Distribution of Promotional Materials at Property.
Ends/Thursday, 21 April 2022
Issued at HKT 10:00
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