How to Open a Company in Hong Kong as a Foreigner in 2025

The professionals of opening an organization in Hong Kong

• Hong Kong is, together with Singapore, probably the most liberal economic system on the planet. Due to this fact, opening a restricted firm is straightforward, quick, and low-cost (the federal government requires a charge of 1,730 HKD for Firm Registration and a charge of 250 HKD for the Enterprise Registration Certificates). You don’t even must dwell there, as you possibly can rent an organization secretary and get a registered workplace deal with for a small annual charge (there are a number of respected businesses that supply this service).
• The required registered capital in Hong Kong is way smaller than within the majority of nations (often solely 10,000 HKD).
• You possibly can run your small business from any nation on the planet: In the event you don’t dwell in Hong Kong, an company can present a secretary and a registered workplace deal with in Hong Kong for about 5-6,000 HKD per 12 months.
• Hong Kong is a significant banking heart and after you have included your organization there, you’ll be entitled to open a multi-currency enterprise checking account (with e-Banking) at a globally acknowledged financial institution resembling DBS or Hang Seng Bank. This can be a key function in case you plan to do enterprise worldwide. Word that in case you favor, you may also open a checking account on your firm outdoors Hong Kong, resembling in Singapore or Switzerland. In any occasion, an excellent company will provide you with clear tips and join you with an acceptable financial institution.
• Hong Kong is the perfect gateway to Mainland China, and the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) supplies Hong Kong with extra and unique mainland market entry advantages. So, in case you’re planning on doing enterprise with a Chinese language companion, having an organization in Hong Kong could also be your greatest guess, particularly on the subject of receiving cash out of your Chinese language enterprise companion.

• Hong Kong has a quite simple taxation system: Beginning as of April 1, 2018, your organization can pay 8.25% on assessable earnings as much as 2,000,000 HKD, and 16.5% on any portion of assessable earnings over 2,000,000 HKD (earlier than, it was 16.5% for all firm revenue, however the authorities determined to chop taxes). Click here to learn more about this topic.

  If the corporate director(s) doesn’t dwell in Hong Kong (and different situations apply), you possibly can apply for “off-shore firm” standing. On this case, your organization will solely need to pay taxes on the earnings generated in Hong Kong (and no taxes on earnings generated elsewhere).

  Watch out, as a result of this doesn’t imply that you just, as a shareholder (whole or partial) of the enterprise, gained’t need to pay taxes within the nation the place you reside. Actually, to entry your organization’s earnings, you’ll need to be paid a wage or annual dividends. It’s on that quantity that you just’ll need to pay private revenue tax within the nation wherein you reside. I repeat: spending your organization’s cash for private use with out declaring it’s a crime in most nations.

  As well as, word that many nations have legal guidelines to find out if a international firm is de facto run from the nation wherein a number of of the administrators reside (Managed Overseas Company (CFC) guidelines). On this case, the nation wherein the administrators dwell may require cost of the distinction between the tax on firm earnings within the nation wherein they reside and Hong Kong. For that reason, it is very important talk about this with an accountant in your nation of residence earlier than beginning an organization in Hong Kong.

• Hong Kong authorities usually grants tax reductions to firms. Some of the widespread conditions is that they may offset HKD 20,000 out of your tax invoice. Nevertheless, this may change because it’s selected a yearly foundation.

The cons of opening an organization in Hong Kong

• Opening an organization in Hong Kong requires fairly a little bit of paperwork and if in case you have by no means executed this earlier than, it may be troublesome to kind all the things out by your self. Furthermore, you’ll need to go there. You possibly can remedy this downside by hiring a licensed company that does all of the work in your behalf for round 2,000 HKD (3,000 if you need the company that can assist you open a enterprise checking account).
• In the event you’re planning to dwell in Mainland China, your Hong Kong firm can’t present a Chinese language Visa for you. On this case, it is advisable to open an organization in Mainland China, which is tougher and requires a registered capital of about 250,000 HKD to start out with (you possibly can re-invest the capital into your small business after you open the corporate although, so it’s not a deposit).

The best way to open an organization in Hong Kong with out residing and even going there

Previously, you have been allowed to open a Sole Dealer Firm in Hong Kong with out a Hong Kong resident allow. These days, until you’re planning to remain in Hong Kong, you possibly can solely open a Restricted Firm. As I mentioned, you possibly can go to Hong Kong and open the corporate by your self. Nevertheless, the federal government requires your organization to have an workplace and an organization secretary based mostly in Hong Kong.

The excellent news is that you just don’t must hire an workplace or rent a full-time firm secretary. There are a number of businesses that might be glad to supply this service to you for round 5-6,000 HKD per 12 months. They will afford to maintain the price low as a result of the identical individual can act as an organization secretary for lots of firms. The identical goes for the workplace: the workplace of a given company can be utilized because the registered workplace deal with for a lot of completely different firms.

Moreover, you possibly can open your organization with out even touring to Hong Kong (e-registration and paper registration are each allowed). You’ll talk about the main points by e-mail or telephone with the company of your alternative, ship all the mandatory paperwork (see under for particulars) by e-mail, pay by PayPal, bank card or financial institution switch, obtain the ultimate paperwork at your private home and ship them again the unique signed copies by DHL or one other worldwide courier service.

All of the paperwork it is advisable to register an organization in Hong Kong and the process for opening it

1. Select a reputation on your brand-new firm: Your licensed company will then test whether or not the identify is on the market in Hong Kong or is already taken.
2. Ship a duplicate of your passport, a duplicate of an official doc as proof of residence (for example, a driver’s license), and a questionnaire with customary questions resembling your deal with, your passport quantity, and the identify of the director and shareholders (in case you plan to open the corporate alone, you may be each director and single shareholder) to Hong Kong.

3. Arrange your organization by e-registration

   : For a easy firm construction, until you may have particular necessities might be sufficient, your licensed company will arrange your organization by way of e-registration. This fashion takes lower than two hours to get the model new firm’s certificates of incorporation and enterprise registration certificates upon certifying the events’ passports on-line, for example by way of video convention.

   Alternatively, within the case your proposed firm has few layers, you’ll obtain a set of pre-signed paperwork (the NNC1 Kind – Incorporation Kind – and the Articles of Affiliation) for the director and shareholder to signal, and also you’re required to return the unique paperwork to your licensed company by worldwide courier.

That’s all! The entire course of to register the corporate ought to take round 5 enterprise days.

The overall value of registering and sustaining an organization in Hong Kong

Assuming that you just resolve to rent a licensed company and that you just want an organization secretary and an workplace deal with, through the first 12 months you’ll must pay for:

• The incorporation paperwork and firm package (seal, stamp, and so forth): about 2,070 HKD.
• Firm registration (authorities charge): 1,730 HKD.
• The Enterprise Registration Certificates (authorities charge): 2,150 HKD.
• Provision for the corporate secretary: 3,500 HKD.
• Provision for the registered workplace deal with: 2,000 HKD.
• E-registration dealing with charge: 300 HKD per officer – this solely applies when it is advisable to register the corporate by way of e-registration
• Help in opening your small business checking account (you possibly can truly open the checking account by yourself, however it does take effort and time): 1,000 HKD.

Word that these are the charges that I paid to my company. Additionally, even when the whole is 12,450 HKD, the company is now providing a reduction of three,000 HKD, so that you’ll find yourself paying 9,450 HKD.

My expertise is that the majority businesses will cost you a bigger charge. You can too get a less expensive citation, however bear in mind that the one company that quoted me a greater value, in a while, tried to rip-off me (claiming that the citation was for a sole proprietorship and never for a restricted firm). I’ll talk about how one can assess the honesty and effectivity of an company within the final part of this text.

Ranging from the second 12 months, you’ll must pay for:

• The Enterprise Registration Certificates (authorities charge): 2,150 HKD.
• Annual Return (authorities charge): 105 HKD.
• Provision for the corporate secretary: 3,500 HKD.
• Provision for the registered workplace deal with: 2,000 HKD.

Which means that ranging from the second 12 months, you’ll pay 7,755 HKD per 12 months to keep up the corporate.

Word that renewing the enterprise certificates is an easy course of, as you don’t even must signal any paperwork: your company will accumulate your charge, deal with all of the paperwork and ship the brand new enterprise certificates to you.

Moreover, inside 18 months of incorporation (after which each following 12 months), you’ll need to fill out an revenue tax return. A good company may even give you accounting and auditing providers. This doesn’t come totally free, and costs might fluctuate as they’re based mostly on the variety of invoices you produce.

Simply to provide you an thought, within the first 12 months I had round 55 transactions and I paid 2,800 HKD for the accounting and 6,000 HKD for the auditing.

The method was simple: I solely needed to e-mail my purchases and gross sales invoices, my Paypal and financial institution statements (you possibly can obtain them out of your on-line banking service), and an Excel spreadsheet with the record of transactions to the company accountant accountable, they usually took care of all the things else.

This was particularly vital to me, as I’m not a tax professional, and earlier than opening the corporate, my greatest concern was screwing up through the tax declaration.

Actually, the method went easily and I haven’t had a single downside since I opened the corporate in 2013.

Lastly, on March 1, 2019, the Corporations (Modification) Ordinance 2019 got here into impact. The Modification Ordinance requires Hong Kong firms (topic to very restricted exceptions) to maintain a Important Controllers Register (the “SCR”) for inspection by regulation enforcement officers upon demand.

The corporate is required to nominate a neighborhood consultant and hold an up-to-date register in Hong Kong.

Word that my company knowledgeable me as quickly because the ordinance got here into impact, despatched me the paperwork I needed to fill out (along with detailed directions on how one can fill them out) and let me use their firm secretary as my “native consultant.”

I paid 2,100 HKD for this service. Nevertheless, the value may very well be completely different. Thus, I recommend you ask the company for the main points.

Abstract of the whole value of opening and sustaining an organization in Hong Kong

• Open an organization: 9,450 HKD
• Enterprise Renewal: 7,755 HKD per 12 months: For renewing the enterprise license in addition to paying for the registered deal with and the corporate secretary.
• Accounting and Auditing (ranging from the second 12 months): From 8,800 HKD. This expense will fluctuate relying on the variety of transactions (the extra transactions you may have, the extra you’ll pay). The auditing charge can also be a operate of some secondary components, resembling firm turnover and others.

  Right here is an estimation of the accounting and auditing charge: round 8,800 HKD per 12 months (if in case you have not more than 60 transactions); round 12,000 HKD per 12 months (if in case you have between 60 and 120 transactions); round 17,700 HKD per 12 months (if in case you have between 120 and 240 transactions). As said, the ultimate citation will depend upon the complexity of the corporate’s operations.

The best way to open a multi-currency enterprise checking account in Hong Kong

Hong Kong is likely one of the members of the Financial Action Task Force. Due to this fact, all Hong Kong banks should comply with sure rules consistent with worldwide threat administration requirements. Due to this fact, earlier than accepting you as a buyer, each financial institution has the duty to gather sure paperwork to be able to adjust to anti-money laundering legal guidelines.

From a sensible viewpoint, if you’re a brand new businessperson (that’s, you may have by no means had a enterprise earlier than), you’ll want to supply the next paperwork (in English) as proof of enterprise to be able to open a enterprise checking account in Hong Kong:

1. Private financial institution reference letter.
2. Earlier/present employment contract.
3. Earlier/present firm enterprise card.
4. Working attestation issued by earlier firm.
5. Skilled certificates within the associated business.
6. Private resume.

Alternatively, in case you already run a enterprise, you’ll want to supply the next paperwork (in English) as proof of enterprise:

1. Certificates of Incorporation.
2. Enterprise Registration Certificates.
3. Enterprise card.
4. Most lately filed annual tax return.
5. Buying and selling historical past, that’s to say, copies of agreements (each patrons and sellers), buy orders, gross sales confirmations, and so forth.

Moreover, you’ll want to write down a marketing strategy (your company ought to assist you to put together it in case you don’t have earlier expertise). In my expertise, the marketing strategy doesn’t should be too detailed, however you do want to supply a route for your small business (what providers you plan to supply, wherein nations you plan to function, and so forth).

To be able to open a checking account, you’ll need to go to the financial institution’s department in Hong Kong. There is no such thing as a different means round this. Nevertheless, for a small charge (1,000 HKD, which is already included within the incorporation package deal charge), your company will offer you an advising service, and pre-screening service and can arrange an appointment in your behalf with the financial institution you want to use.

If the financial institution permits it, an worker of the company may even accompany you to the financial institution and comply with up with the account opening standing. The face-to-face interview shouldn’t take multiple hour.

Simply bear in mind to carry your passport and 10,000 HKD in money (this would be the registered capital of the corporate and should be deposited into your organization checking account on the identical day you open the account).

Word that in case you’re positioned in a Chinese language designated coast metropolis, resembling Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Beijing, Shanghai, or others, you possibly can open a checking account at designated banks with out touring to Hong Kong. Nevertheless, we nonetheless beneficial that you just go to Hong Kong so that you’ve got extra financial institution choices to select from and get quicker approval.

Another choice is to open an alternate checking account in Hong Kong utilizing one of many fintech startups that are actually providing this service.

Listed below are some execs and cons of those providers:

Execs

• These startups often a simple and quick onboarding course of
• Almost definitely it is possible for you to to ship and obtain cash in several currencies, not solely HKD
• They often supply integrations with Paypal, Stripe, Amazon Pay, and different retailers, which is a key function, particularly in case you plan to promote on-line
• On this case, you possibly can often open the account with out visiting Hong Kong

Cons

These should not “banks”, and thus you won’t anticipate all of the providers supplied by a financial institution, resembling for instance:

• Getting a bank card
• Getting a mortgage

It’s additionally potential to open an offshore checking account (for example in Singapore or Switzerland) with out visiting Hong Kong. I like to recommend that you just talk about these particulars together with your company, as selecting the best financial institution is extraordinarily vital.

The best way to get a authorities grant on your small enterprise in Hong Kong

In addition to low taxes and a particularly environment friendly system, the Hong Kong authorities additionally presents a number of grants and funding schemes to small and medium enterprises (SME).

Listed below are some examples:

• The SME Export Advertising Fund (EMF) supplies monetary assist to promote your organization outdoors Hong Kong;
• The SME Mortgage Assure Scheme (SGS) helps your organization to safe a mortgage;
• The Innovation and Know-how Fund (ITF) goals at strengthening technological and progressive enterprises;
• The Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Growth Fund (SIE Fund) presents sources to NGOs and different organizations that work on lowering social exclusion, poverty, and related points;
• The Patent Software Grant helps native firms and people to guard their personal mental property by way of patents registration.

Word that the Hong Kong authorities defines an SME as a neighborhood firm that employs lower than 50 individuals in Hong Kong (for a non-manufacturing enterprise) and a neighborhood firm that employs lower than 100 individuals in Hong Kong (for a producing enterprise).

Word additionally that each funding scheme has its personal standards for eligibility, and that these standards may differ vastly, in accordance on the funding scheme.

You possibly can click here to be taught extra about this matter.

How to decide on an sincere company and keep away from scammers

In the event you do a fast Google search, you will discover tons of of businesses that declare they might help you open and manage a company in Hong Kong. Whereas a few of them are sincere, others are simply scammers. My expertise is that there are numerous businesses that function in a gray zone.

They could not steal your cash. Nevertheless, they might work as an middleman for an actual company, subsequently taking a proportion of your charge and slowing down the entire course of. Or worse, they’ll declare providers that they aren’t in a position to supply and when you pay their charge, make you a costlier counteroffer. These businesses often look cheaper than sincere ones (and for an excellent purpose!).

Need an instance? You’ll ask if it’s nonetheless potential to open a Sole Dealer Firm in Hong Kong (it’s cheaper than a Restricted Firm) even in case you don’t plan to dwell there (it was potential till 2010). You’ll obtain an e-mail that states that there are not any issues with this and that after all, it’s potential! Then, after you have wired the cash, you’ll obtain one other sort of e-mail that claims one thing on this line:

“Sorry Mr. Smith, the regulation modified final month and now you possibly can solely open a Restricted Firm in Hong Kong in case you don’t dwell right here. I’m very very sorry. Simply ship us an extra 5,000 HKD and we’ll be glad to deal with it for you! You’ll get your restricted firm inside 12 enterprise days!”

That is fairly a standard situation. Would you’re employed with an company that acts on this means? Good, I wouldn’t work with them both.

In the event you already know somebody that owns an organization in Hong Kong, it’s best to ask them what company they used and if they might advocate it. Or, you possibly can contact us and I’ll recommend an sincere company to you (the one I used to open my very own firm).

Right here, as promised, is a few recommendation for recognizing an sincere company:

Step 1: Examine the company’s web site

Let’s suppose you probably did some analysis on Google.com and also you discovered three to 5 businesses that supply firm incorporation providers.

Does their web site look skilled? Is their English any good? Are you able to simply perceive what the company is providing you? How outdated is the web site? Would you belief an company that opened its web site two months in the past? Good, me neither.

You can too test the age of an web area totally free on who.is.

Does their web site present a bodily deal with in Hong Kong, a telephone quantity, and an e-mail deal with? Is there any method to test if the web site belongs to an actual firm?

In the event that they ask you to pay by bank card, are you redirected to a web page protected by an SSL certificates (you’ll see a URL that begins with https:// as an alternative of http://) or not?

Word that not one of the data I’ve listed will make sure the honesty of the company. I see them extra as obligatory however not enough situations for doing enterprise with me.

Step 2: Getting extra information on the company

Let’s suppose that the identify of the company that you just’re researching is “HK Corporations Incorp Restricted” (a random identify that I simply made up).

Examine on Google.com for queries resembling “HK Corporations Incorp Restricted rip-off,” “HK Corporations Incorp Restricted issues” and so forth. The objective right here is to find if another person is complaining concerning the company in a discussion board, weblog, or web site. In fact, in case you don’t discover any suspect data, you possibly can’t ensure that the company is sincere. However in case you do discover one thing, chances are you’ll rethink your alternative.

Step 3: Contacting the corporate

Let’s say that HK Corporations Incorp Restricted is an actual firm, it has an expert web site and also you didn’t discover any complaints about them. Now it’s time to contact the company.

In the event you name them throughout enterprise hours, does someone reply the telephone? Does he/she communicate first rate English? It doesn’t need to be excellent, as English isn’t the principle language in Hong Kong in any case. Nevertheless, all of the paperwork regarding your future firm might be in English, so that you do must cope with someone that has enough language proficiency.

If their English is dangerous you’re in all probability coping with a mainland Chinese language person who acts as an middleman for an actual company, or worse, somebody who’s simply attempting to rip-off you.

Are you able to pay by PayPal or wire switch, or do they insist on amassing your cash by way of Western Union? In the event that they solely settle for Western Union, run away! Why? As a result of you possibly can’t observe the transaction they usually can simply run away together with your cash. That is true for any financial transaction, not simply when opening an organization.

In the event you ship an inquiry by e-mail, does someone reply inside 24-48 hours with good English and with out pushing you to purchase their service as quickly as potential? A longtime company has a wholesome variety of prospects and doesn’t should be pushy. However a scammer? They simply need you to ship them some cash after which run away earlier than you understand they don’t know a lot about incorporating firms.

If you ask for a citation, do you obtain a transparent reply to all your questions and a listing of the price of every service (firm incorporation service charge, enterprise checking account opening service charge, Hong Kong authorities annual charges, and so forth)?

I believe it’s vital not solely to identify a possible scammer but additionally to evaluate how environment friendly the company might be sooner or later. Do not forget that in case you resolve to purchase their service, they’ll deal with a key a part of your small business. Due to this fact, their communication expertise are an vital piece of the puzzle.

Continuously Requested Questions

Are you in search of a licensed company that may assist you to arrange your Hong Kong firm?

In order for you the identify of an sincere company that may assist you to register and handle your organization, simply ship us a message with the next type:

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