Setting Up Company in Hong Kong

[CFC]

I want to set up a Company in HK for tax reasons. There is a lot of knowledgable people who post in the banking,business & investments forum. There is many businesses that offer New Company Registrations. Can anyone recommend one of these companies and also if there any pitfulls to look out for when setting up a company in HK. Replies appreciated.

[SheungWan]

You can use one of the off-the-shelf company packages who can provide you with a company address to register your business but you will probably have to go to HK to open a bank account if you do not already have one. The company arranging the registration usually offers to provide you with an introduction to a HK bank. However, you may be asked to open a personal as opposed to a business bank account if there is no actual business being transacted in HK. Banks are sensitive now to money laundering issues so maybe you need to expand on why you want to register for 'tax reasons'.

[KelinUT]

I use a firm in HK - used to work with the same CPA in Japan and can highly recommend - but not sure this forum allows direct recommendations to be posted. This will be 2nd company we've set-up in HK - live in Thailand - with this firm as secretary and auditor. E=We have bank accounts with HSBC and they do require the first director to be physically present at bank in HK to open account. There are many such services available. The question is if they are all reliable and efficient?

[SheungWan]

There is not a lot for them to be reliable and efficient about. The work is in the setup ie registering a company, providing an address and getting you an intro to a bank account. After that whether you need an accountant is up to you. Once you have the bank account you can switch to online statements. For tax submission that can be done online. As for any mail well you can either employ the set-up co to forward mail or you can do hold mail. I am always handed flyers for these companies when taking the overhead walkway from Wanchai to HKEC. The prices are quite reasonable. If I wanted to go through the process of checking out one or two I would make an attempt to visit their addresses on a trip and then just choose one.

[matador007]

Hi,

I have experience in this. I do not want to violate any forum rules, but feel free to contact me for further guidance on this.

As KelinUT said, upon setup of bank account (at HSBC, but probably most any bank there) ; they will require you to make a stop there. For me it was just to shake Manager's hand, and provide some ID documents.

If you have American citizenship, you might think about another place. As due to the new FATCA laws, making it more difficult to use HK.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_Account_Tax_Compliance_Act

http://fatca.hsbc.com/en

Good luck.

[CFC]

Thanks for the replies. Matador007 & KelinUT I have sent you a PM.

[shiroboi]

My wife and I have a Thai Majority Shareholder business. We looked into setting up business in HK. It was about $3,000 US for the setup fees and $2K every year therafter for maintenance. I checked and this year, I think I paid a whopping $400 in Thai taxes. If you have a good accountant and write off everything properly, you can keep your thai taxes down. Alternatively you could go BOI and get the tax exemption for 8 years. Setting up in HK can be a good move but you need to analyze your situation to see if it's worth it for you.