COMPANY FORMATION
As we all know, Hong Kong is one of the most popular places in the world for company formation due to its low, simple and competitive tax regime, but most importantly, being a leading financial hub in Asia, connecting all other neighboring ASEAN members in the region. Many foreigners decide to register a company here for taxation purposes.
ACCOUNTING AND AUDIT SERVICES
Accounting plays an important role in the company formation industry as every company is required to file for an audit report and tax form to the government for every financial year. A newly incorporated company does not need to file for an audit report or tax form until 18 months after its incorporation. As mentioned above, if your company intends to apply for a 0% offshore status, you must not have employees, customers, suppliers or operations in Hong Kong. If your auditor agrees that your company is offshore, he/she will state the fact on the audited report before submission. The government will then decide whether your company is offshore or not depending on the audited report submitted by your auditor. If the government thinks that your company is onshore for the first 18 months after its incorporation, they will send you a tax demand note. If not, your company will not receive one.
TAX CONSULTANCY
Hong Kong is a tax haven for its relatively low, simple and competitive tax regime. For those of you who are considering incorporating a company in Hong Kong, you must know that the taxation rate is only at 8.25% for the first 2 million dollars in profit, and 16.5% for any profits gained after the 2 million benchmark. Offshore income, dividends and interests are not taxable. However, if you intend to claim 0% offshore status for your company, you must not have employees, customers, suppliers or operations in Hong Kong.
Additionally, Hong Kong does not have sales tax, value added tax (VAT), good & services tax (GST), estate tax as well as capital gains tax. Moreover, Hong Kong has been a free port ever since its development in the 19th century, and so it has a long tradition for not levying custom tariffs on import and export except for four types of commodities, they are liquor, tobacco, hydrocarbon oil and methyl alcohol. For more information, you can visit the Hong Kong Customs website for further information.
SECRETARIAL SERVICES
Besides the annual NAR1 form and renewal of the Business Registration Certificate, a company secretary is also responsible for many other things required by their clients depending on their needs. Such as share transfer and share allotment. For share transfer, that is when a company director wishes to transfer partial or all of his/her shares to another person as a new company member. In this case, if the company has commenced business, the company secretary must prepare a letter to the Inland Revenue Department, sold note & bought note, Instrument of Transfer, a written resolution and an unaudited report to submit to the government.
As for a share allotment, this is when a company director wishes to allot new shares to a new shareholder(s) while one gets to keep his/her original shares simultaneously. In this case, a company secretary will just need to prepare an NSC1 form and a written resolution for this process. Hence, a share transfer is generally more expensive than a share allotment because more documents are required which means more time costs.
BANKING AND FINANCE
It can be quite tricky to open a business bank account in Hong Kong with traditional banks. Bankers in Hong Kong often want to see if you have prior business experience before approving your application mainly to ensure your genuinely in starting an actual business in Hong Kong and not for money laundering purposes. If this is your first time starting a business, you can consider e-wallets at the initial stage. Generally speaking, e-wallets are easier to work with in terms of account opening because they have less questions than traditional banks.
IMMIGRATION SERVICES
We offer professional, end-to-end visa and immigration consulting services tailored for corporate clients and international assignees.
Our team of visa specialists possesses extensive expertise in Hong Kong’s immigration landscape. Based on our experience, identifying the right visa type and developing a sound strategy from the outset are critical to ensuring a swift and successful application. Leveraging our deep understanding of application procedures and regulatory requirements, we guide our clients in selecting the most suitable visa category and charting the most effective course of action.
With years of hands-on experience and comprehensive knowledge of Hong Kong’s visa processes, we deliver streamlined solutions that simplify complexity. From advising on the appropriate visa type to managing the relevant documentation and strategic planning, we provide end-to-end support.
