companies, after a change to legislation affecting businesses was passed through the House of Assembly yesterday.

The Companies Amendment Act 2000 also removes a provision requiring a quorum for a general meeting to be a minimum of two individuals and imposes a solvency test on the giving of financial assistance to acquire shares in a company.

It was described by Finance Minister Eugene Cox as another step by Government "in making sure laws controlling corporations are kept up to date with today's business world''.

He noted that the 21 changes it makes to existing legislation "are mainly of a housekeeping nature.'' While welcoming the amendment as "an important step'', Shadow Finance Minister Grant Gibbons said he had hoped for the legislation to address the issue of streamlining company procedure so as to continue its movement away from "ministerial consent''.