What makes Hong Kong an attractive international location to set up a new company for entrepreneurs?
- HK provides one of the most liberal economies in the world.
- Many of the world’s major banks are located in HK. It means your money can easily be exchanged in many different currencies or the currency of your country.
- Having a company setup in Hong Kong (which has been known as the best gateway to China), it makes it much easier to do business with companies in the mainland China, especially companies situated in Shenzhen or Guangzhou (due to their proximity).
- Hong Kong has a legal system that is much different to that of mainland China’s but is very similar to the ones in most western developed countries, and is a system that has been used over decades.
- Profit tax in HK is relatively low, compared to the profit tax in many other countries.
- Opening a new limited company requires low cost and the process is relatively fast, compared to other countries.
- The business owner is not required to physically live in Hong Kong.
- As the owner is not needed to reside in HK, the company needs to only have a registered office address. This registered office address concept does not require the owner to actually rent a location, put in a few employees and some office furniture. It only means he can get a registered office address on behalf of a local agent or service provider.
- In some cases, the owner is not even require to present himself in HK during the entire process of incorporation.
Entrepreneurs who have decided going for Hong Kong company incorporation will require a service provider or local agency to take care of the following items:
- All the company incorporation documents with the company kit including seal, stamp and more
- Company registration
- Business Registration Certificate
- A company secretary
- A registered office address
- Handling of e-registration
- Assistance in and preparing the documents for opening a new business bank account – The business owner still actually has to present himself/herself physically at the bank when opening the bank account.
You may probably need the service provided by a local Hong Kong immigration consultant, when you have decided to relocate yourself into HK as your business grows larger.
Another advantage is when eventually you are to set up an office in HK, you will find hiring staffs there not as difficult as you first thought. It would be quick to find some new staffs (who are based locally) that fit into the international company profile. Alternatively it will be equally quick to find some expatriates with the experience that your company requires.
