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Monday, 6 February 2012SITE MAP
HONGKONG
  • HongKong is one of the most important financial centres in the Asian region, and has traditionally been regarded by entrepreneurs as the economic gateway to the Chinese market.
  • In 1997, HongKong, which had until then been a British colony, became an administrative region of China, under the treaty between China and the United Kingdom. In this connection, many entrepreneurs throughout the world predicted that the capitalist system in HongKong would undergo severe change. However, regardless of the factual change in HongKong's political status, its new motherland, China, has kept to its previously declared principle "one country, two systems". For this reason, HongKong remains a model of the capitalist system and is a popular jurisdiction worldwide for the incorporation of tax-exempt companies, particularly for entrepreneurs working with business partners from the Far East.

GENERAL INFORMATIONTotal area - 1,067 sq km
Population - 6,600,000
Location - click here to see the map of offshore jurisdictions
Political status - administrative district of China.
Official language - Chinese, English in general use
Official currency - HongKong Dollar (HKD)
Time zone - GMT +8
Company typePrivate company limited by shares
Directors/OfficersHongKong companies require a minimum of 1 Director, who may be a natural person or corporate body from any legal jurisdiction.
Each HongKong company must file a Register of its Directors with the Register of Enterprises of the HongKong.
ShareholdersHongKong companies require a minimum of 1 shareholder, who may be a natural person or corporate body from any legal jurisdiction.
Each HongKong company must file a Register of its Shareholder/s with the Register of Enterprises of the HongKong.
SecretaryHongKong companies require a minimum of 1 Secretary, who may be a natural person or a corporate body and must be a resident of HongKong.
Each HongKong company must file an information on its Secretary with the Register of Enterprises of the HongKong.
Authorised share capitalStandard authorised capital = HKD 10,000.
Minimum capital, which must be paid on incorporation = 2 HKD
Company Names The name of a HongKong company must end with the word "Limited" or the suffix "Ltd.".
Company names containing restricted words such as "Bank", "Insurance", "Assurance", "Savings", "Trust" etc. will not be permitted unless an appropriate national operating licence has been obtained by the company.
Beneficial Ownership information Information with regard to ultimate beneficial ownership must be disclosed to the Registered Agent of the company in the HongKong and is held by the agent on a confidential basis.
Filing of Annual ReturnAn Annual Return must be submitted every 12 months after the date of registration.
Filing of Financial Statement A Financial Statement must be submitted every year.
Corporate TaxationIncome sourced outside of HongKong is not subject to corporation tax in HongKong.
Tax TreatiesHongKong non-resident companies are not subject to treaties concluded by HongKong with any other jurisdictions dealing with the avoidance of double taxation.
Timeframe for incorporation 10/12 working days. A complete set of company documents can be delivered in 4/5 weeks.
Takeover of management & secretarial services for an existing HongKong non-resident companyPossible, following verification of Beneficial Ownership and agreement with and discharge of liabilities to previous corporate service provider in HongKong.
Description of incorporation documentsClick here for itemised description of company documents.
"Ready-made"("Shelf") companiesToday we have 9 "Ready-made" companies available in this jurisdiction
Price of HongKong non-resident companyUSD 3,460, including incorporation costs, full domiciliary (Registered Agent/Office) costs, Nominee services and legal support services for one year.
Cost of annual support servicesUSD 2,380 per year, including full domiciliary (Registered Agent/Office) costs, annual Government Duty, Nominee services and legal support services for each year.
  • INTERNATIONAL OVERSEAS SERVICES has the following comments: -
  • One of the advantages for companies incorporated in HongKong is that their tax-exempt status is not immediately apparent to third parties. The foundation documents of non-resident HongKong companies do not, on the face of them, differ in any particular way from those of resident companies, which are subject to a standard rate of tax of 16%. The privileged status of non-resident HongKong companies is based precisely on the territorial system of taxing income in HongKong.
  • It is for this reason that companies incorporated in HongKong, despite the higher registration expenses associated with them, are highly rated by entrepreneurs, especially where there is an opportunity to work with business partners from the Far East.
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