Hong Kong Incorporation for Offshore Business
and Asset Protection

Absolutely the best option out there that we know of for a multi-currency (10 different) corporate account with internet banking with one of the largest banks in the world in one of the world’s premier and largest offshore banking jurisdictions. No physical presence and even no bank or reference letters required under this program! Only US$700 needed for minimum account opening balance. Bank account opening accomplished within 3 business days as soon as HK company formed. One of the most hassle-free bank account opening options we know of.

Introduction to Hong Kong

Advantages

1. Hong Kong incorporates more companies per annum than any other jurisdiction and most of these are trading companies doing real business rather than asset protection or tax avoidance vehicles so there is no immediate suggestion that the company is also being used for tax avoidance. 
2. Hong Kong is a well known and respected jurisdiction that is not blacklisted anywhere.
3. Forming a HK company through our special service allows you to obtain an account in HK with one of the largest financial institutions in the world without the usual physical presence requirement and no reference letters of any type.
4. A Hong Kong company is an essential element of doing almost any type of business in mainland China.
5. Hong Kong is a PayPal approved jurisdiction and one of very few no-tax jurisdictions where it is possible to have an unrestricted PayPal account. (The only other two jurisdictions where this is possible are Cyprus and Gibraltar)
6. No tax treaties with any other countries except for a double taxation agreement with China. China which controls Hong Kong unlikely to be pressured by OECD countries.
7. World class multi-currency banking available with some of the largest international banks in the world.
8. Good banking secrecy and the company can be anonymous if you use our nominee director/shareholder services or set up a foundation to own all the shares in the company.
9. English is main business and banking language.

Disadvantages

1. Directors and Shareholders are public information (using our nominees can resolve this)
2. Annual accounts must be audited and filed (but information not publicly available)
3. Local resident secretary must be appointed (nominee provided)
4. Annual fees are higher then what is normal in most other IBC jurisdictions because of company financials filing requirement.

General Information about Hong Kong

Location

Hong Kong is on the south east coast of China and consists of a large number of islands and a part of the mainland totaling approximately 1,025 sq. km. The principal areas are Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories. These areas were ceded to Britain in perpetuity in 1842 under the treaty of Nanking, and in 1898, the New Territories were leased by Britain from China for a period of 99 years. On 1 July 1997 all of Hong Kong reverted back to China and became a Special Administration Region within the People’s Republic of China.

Population

The population of Hong Kong is currently 7 million made up mainly of people of Chinese origin and is one of the most densely populated areas in the world.

Political Structure

Until 1 July 1997, Hong Kong was a British Crown Colony. A governor appointed by the Queen presided over the Hong Kong government, which consisted of the executive and legislative councils.

On 1 July 1997 Hong Kong elected its own legislature and maintained its court structure. The head of the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is the Chief Executive Officer. The Legislative Council is the legislature of the Hong Kong.

Infrastructure and Economy

Separating Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon peninsular is Victoria Harbour, which is recognised internationally as one of the world’s perfect natural harbours. It varies in width from two to ten kilometers. An additional 13,517 sq. km of land has been reclaimed in the New Territories to provide additional dockyard and warehousing facilities. It is estimated that well over 100,000 containers per month pass through the port.

Hong Kong is the leading South East Asian centre for both finance and commerce and ranks as the world’s third largest financial centre after New York and London. There are more than 160 licensed banks with more than 130 foreign banks having representative offices in Hong Kong and a further 225 licensed deposit taking finance companies all of which play an active role in the financing of international trade and commerce.

Language

The official languages are English and Chinese, with English being used in the commercial and political context and Cantonese and Mandarin Chinese used widely in industry and domestic trade.

Exchange Control

None.

Type of Law

Common Law based on English Common Law.

Principal Corporate Legislation

Companies Ordinance (Cap 32).

Hong Kong Private Limited Company Information

Type of Company for International Trade and Investment

Private company limited by shares.

Restrictions on Trading

Cannot undertake banking or insurance or financial activities unless relevant licences are obtained.

Powers of Company

A Hong Kong limited liability company has all the powers of a natural person.

Language of Legislation and Corporate Documents

Both Chinese and English, and either one of the two languages can be used in the corporate documents.

Registered Office

A company must maintain a registered office in Hong Kong where the correspondence from Hong Kong Government can be served.

Shelf Companies Available

Yes, shelf companies are commonly used and are available for immediate delivery.

Time to Incorporate

Tailor-made company: 6-7 working days. Readymade company: can be completed within one working day

Name Restrictions

A name that is too similar to or identical to an existing company. A name that constitutes a criminal offence or is otherwise contrary to the public interest. A name that implies government patronage.

Names Requiring Consent or Licence

Building society, Chamber of Commerce, chartered, co-operative, mass transit, municipal, savings, tourist association, trust, trustee, underground railway, bank, insurance, assurance, reinsurance, department.

Disclosure of Beneficiary Ownership to Authorities

The particulars of the shareholder(s) are available to the general public.  Anonymity can be preserved by using nominee services or setting up an offshore company or foundation to hold the share(s). 

Compliance

Authorised and Issued Share Capital

The standard authorised share capital is HKD10,000. The minimum issued capital is one share of HKD1 each.

Classes of Shares Permitted

Ordinary shares, preference shares, redeemable shares and shares with or without voting rights.

Bearer Shares

Company incorporated in Hong Kong is not allowed to issue bearer shares. However, privacy can be achieved by utilizing nominee services or setting up an offshore IBC or foundation to hold the share(s).

Taxation

The principle of Hong Kong income tax is that it is a tax on income that has its source in Hong Kong rather than a tax based on residence. Hong Kong does not therefore impose tax on non-Hong Kong source income even when remitted to Hong Kong. Consequently, if a Hong Kong company’s trading or business activities are based outside Hong Kong, no taxation will be levied in Hong Kong. Hong Kong companies with Hong Kong source income currently pay a rate of taxation on profits of 16.5%. Panama has a similar territorial taxation system.

There is no tax on capital gains. Interest income and dividend income is also tax free. There are no withholding taxes. The local currency is the Hong Kong Dollar which is freely interchangeable but has a pegged exchange rate against the US Dollar. There are no exchange controls in Hong Kong.

One of the major advantages of utilising a Hong Kong company is that there is no immediate suggestion that the company is a tax avoidance vehicle as Hong Kong is major trading entity in its own right. Hong Kong is one of the world’s largest importers and also one of the world’s largest exporters. The vast majority of the 50,000 Hong Kong companies incorporated annually are conducting real trade business in the region.

Double Taxation Agreements

Hong Kong has no double tax agreement with any other country, with the exception of the Mainland China.

Financial Statement Requirements

Hong Kong companies are required to prepare full audited accounts under the company laws. Also, a copy of the audited financial statements is to be furnished with Inland Revenue Department together with Profits Tax Return. The audited financial statements are not available to the public or to the foreign authorities except those of a listed company.

Director(s)

A minimum number of one (1) director is required and full details of these must be filed with the Companies Registry and are available for public’s inspection. The director(s) can be of any nationality and be resident anywhere. There is no requirement for board meetings to be held within Hong Kong and directors may be resident anywhere in the world. Corporate nominee directors are permitted.

Company Secretary

Every private Hong Kong limited company must appoint a company secretary, who may be a natural person or a body corporate, but the company secretary must ordinarily reside in Hong Kong or in case a corporate company secretary, it must have a place of establishment in Hong Kong.

Shareholder(s)

A minimum number of one shareholder is required whose details are filed on the Companies Registry and are available for public’s inspection. Corporate shareholders are permitted and anonymity can be achieved by the use of nominee shareholders or offshore IBC holding company or foundation. The shareholder(s) can be of any nationality and be resident anywhere in the world and meetings can take place anywhere.

Documents and Information Required

1. A clear photocopy of passport of each director and shareholder of the proposed company. If shareholder/director is another corporation, please provide us its certificate of incorporation instead;
2. A clear photocopy of the recent residential address with proof of each director and shareholder of the proposed company. If the shareholder/director is another corporation, please provide us any document showing its registered address instead;
3. The authorized share capital and par value per share respectively. If not otherwise provided by the client, we will apply for our standard authorized share capital. That is HK$10,000 divided into 10,000 shares of HK$1 each;
4. The issued and paid up share capital. If not otherwise provided by the client, we will apply for the minimum issued and paid up capital;
5. The shareholding amongst each shareholder if there is more than one shareholder;
6. The name and address of any third party of 18 years old or above who will witness the shareholders’ signatures in the Memorandum and Articles of Association (M&A). Please be advised that the third party witness is also needed to sign in the M&A;
7. The business scope of the proposed company;
8. 3 proposed company names in priority. The proposed company name can be of English or Chinese only or both.

The information requested can be entered onto our secure order form here.

Documents Given to Clients after Registration

1. one original copy of Certificate of Incorporation
2. one original copy of Business Registration Certificate
3. Ten (10) copies of Memorandum and Articles of Association
4. Ten (10) copies of share certificate
5. Register of Members and Register of Directors
6. one Common Seal and two rubber company chops
7. Minutes for the appointment of first director(s)
8. One filed copy of the Incorporation Form

Fees for our Hong Kong Packages

Standard Hong Kong Corporate Package with account

Package includes HK account for US$2,875 (+ $100 courier fee) with no bank reference letter and no physical presence required. Only $700 needed for account opening minimum which for convenience can be included in your initial payment.

Anonymous Hong Kong Corporate Package with account

Package includes everything as above plus nominee director and shareholder service for complete anonymity, all for US$3,675 (+ $100 courier fee).

“Bullet Proof” Anonymous Hong Kong Corporation combined with Panama Foundation package

As above, except instead of the nominee shareholder service a Panama foundation is set up with a separate optional Panama account available to act as sole shareholder giving you direct control of the company through the foundation. Company income can be “donated” into the foundation and the foundation used for a myriad of purposes.  Includes brokerage account opening options, complete mail forwarding service, pre-paid debit card and credit card options.  US$4975 (or US$5975 if professional third party account signatory management desired).

Optional Services for any package:

1. Apostille of documents: US$500 additional (needed by some foreign banks for account opening purposes).
2. Legalisation of documents: US$800 additional, needed only for use in China where attestation by authorized PRC government representative required.
3. Hong Kong Mail Receiving/Forwarding Address: US$400 per annum

Annual Maintenance Fees

Annual maintenance fee is estimated is at US $1,200 which covers annual filing fee, annual company secretary fee, annual business registration fee and annual registered office fee.

In addition to the above there is the statutory audit fee which for most situations will be US$700. For most offshore business and investment use of a Hong Kong company this should be adequate. An exact quote can be provided if operations are extensive or complex or if there are local operations to consider, in which case there will be a profit and employer’s tax returns to also consider in addition.     

Hong Kong Incorporation & Account Procedures