Hong Kong Formation – Private Limited Company
Hong Kong is a metropolitan integrating opportunities, creativity and entrepreneurial spirit, and it has been rated “the world’s freest economy” for 24 consecutive years by the Heritage Foundation. As an international financial centre, Hong Kong is favored by worldwide investors due to its established legal system, simplified taxation system, low taxation rate, well-equipped infrastructure and communication facilities, and high quality professionals.
Hong Kong offers unlimited business opportunities, and serves as a platform to global economy and commerce, whose advantages are well known, so tens of thousands of international businesses benefit from setting up a company in Hong Kong.
Acumen is able to offer expert services to help your business with Hong Kong company registry.
Hong Kong Private Company Requirements
- Company name must be unique.
- Company name must not include certain restricted words.
- Company name can be in English or Chinese or both.
- Minimum HK$1 share capital to be issued and paid up.
- No restriction on the maximum issued and paid up share capital.
- The liability of each shareholder is limited to the issued and paid up share capital.
- Issued and paid up share capital is not the required minimum deposit amount in bank account
- Minimum one Shareholder to the maximum of 50 Shareholders.
- Minimum one Individual Director (aged 18 or above).
- A company is allowed to act as Shareholder or Director.
- Shareholder and Director can be the same person or same company.
- Shareholder and Director can be individuals of any nationality, domicile and residence.
- A Company must appoint a Company Secretary (to ensure compliance with ongoing legal returns, accounts, audi tand other requirements).
- The Company Secretary must be ordinarily resident in Hong Kong, a HK qualified accounting professional, a HK qualified legal professional or a “HK Trust or Company Service Providers licensee”.
- If the Shareholder and the Director are two separate person, then either one of them can be appointed as Company Secretary.
- If the Shareholder and the Director is the same person or the same company, then a third party (individual or company) should be appointed as company secretary.
- The sole director of a company shall not also be the company secretary.
- A Company must have a Registered Office address in Hong Kong.
- The Registered Office address serves as the company’s legal address for notices and proceedings and can be different from the business address.
- Take reasonable steps to identify its significant controllers;
- Give notices and obtain required particulars of significant controllers;
- Enter the required particulars of its significant controllers in the SCR and keep them up-to-date;
- Keep its SCR at the company’s registered office or a place in Hong Kong, and;
- Allowing inspection by law enforcement officer.
From 1 March 2018, a Hong Kong incorporated company must:
- Designate at least one person as its representative to provide assistance relating to the company’s Significant Controllers Register to a law enforcement officer.
- Appoint one of the following person as the company’s Designated Representative –
- A shareholder, director or an employee of the company who is a natural person resident in Hong Kong, or
- – HK qualified accounting professional, a HK qualified legal professional or
- – a “HK Trust or Company Service Providers licensee”.
A company must observe its statutory obligations under the Hong Kong Companies Ordinance and file annual returns, specified forms etc. within the prescribed time period on an ongoing basis.
Taxation
- Profits tax is payable on profits generated in Hong Kong. Only those profits which arise in or are derived from Hong Kong are liable to profits tax in Hong Kong.
- If the profits derived outside Hong Kong, it may be treated as offshore sourced and non-taxable in Hong Kong.
- With effective from 1 April 2018, the profits tax rate for the first HK$ 2 million of profits of corporations is lowered to 8.25 per cent. Profits above that amount will continue to be subject to the tax rate of 16.5 per cent.
- In Hong Kong, many items are tax deductible.
Hong Kong Facts
General Information
Hong Kong is an autonomous territory, and former British colony, in southeastern China. Its vibrant, densely populated urban Centre is a major port and global financial hub with a skyscraper-studded skyline. Central (the business district) features architectural landmarks like I.M. Pei’s Bank of China Tower. Hong Kong is also a major shopping destination, famed for bespoke tailors and Temple Street Night Market.
Population
The territory’s population in mid-2015 is 7.30 million, with an average annual growth rate of 0.8% over the previous 5 years.
Political Structure
Hong Kong’s current structure of governance inherits from the British model of colonial administration set up in the 1850s. The 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration states that “Hong Kong should enjoy a high degree of autonomy in all areas except defense and foreign affairs” with reference to the underlying principle of one country, two systems.
Infrastructure and Economy
Hong Kong has excellent communication facilities. From 2001 to 2012, Hong Kong International Airport achieved the top-3 and it continued to be highly regarded among passengers in annual survey by Skytrax, a London-based air transport research organization, as one of the World’s Best Airports. Hong Kong has been ranked first in terms of economic freedom for 18 consecutive years (1995 – 2012) by the Heritage Foundation of its Economic Freedom study. Solid external net assets held by banks and deposit-taking institutions make Hong Kong one of the largest banking centers in the world.
Language
The official languages are English and Chinese, with English being used in the commercial and political context and Cantonese Chinese used widely in industry and domestic trade.
Currency
The Hong Kong Dollar, which is officially pegged to the US Dollar. (approx. 1US$ = HK$7.74 to HK$7.68).
Exchange Control
There are no foreign exchange controls in Hong Kong.