Hong Kong Company Formation / Registration / Incorporation
GENERAL INFORMATION:
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions (SARs) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China’s south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour. With a land mass of 1,104 km2 (426 sq mi) and a population of seven million people, Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated areas in the world. Hong Kong’s population is 95 percent ethnic Chinese and 5 percent from other groups. Hong Kong’s Han Chinese majority originate mainly from the cities of Guangzhou and Taishan in the neighbouring Guangdong province.
Hong Kong became a colony of the British Empire after the First Opium War (1839–42). Originally confined to Hong Kong Island, the colony’s boundaries were extended in stages to the Kowloon Peninsula in 1860 and then the New Territories in 1898. It was occupied by Japan during the Pacific War, after which the British resumed control until 1997, when China resumed sovereignty. The region espoused minimum government intervention under the ethos of positive non-interventionism during the colonial era. The time period greatly influenced the current culture of Hong Kong, often described as “East meets West”, and the educational system, which used to loosely follow the system in England until reforms implemented in 2009.
Under the principle of “one country, two systems”, Hong Kong has a different political system from mainland China. Hong Kong’s independent judiciary functions under the common law framework. The Basic Law of Hong Kong, its constitutional document, which stipulates that Hong Kong shall have a “high degree of autonomy” in all matters except foreign relations and military defence, governs its political system. Although it has a burgeoning multi-party system, a small-circle electorate controls half of its legislature. An 800-person Election Committee selects the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, the head of government.
As one of the world’s leading international financial centres, Hong Kong has a major capitalist service economy characterised by low taxation and free trade, and the currency, Hong Kong dollar, is the eighth most traded currency in the world. The lack of space caused demand for denser constructions, which developed the city to a centre for modern architecture and the world’s most vertical city. The dense space also led to a highly developed transportation network with public transport travelling rate exceeding 90 percent, the highest in the world. Hong Kong has numerous high international rankings in various aspects. For instance, its economic freedom, financial and economic competitiveness, quality of life, corruption perception, Human Development Index, etc., are all ranked highly.
Today, Hong Kong continues to serve as an important global financial centre, but faces uncertainty over its future due to the growing mainland China economy, and its relationship with the PRC government in areas such as democratic reform and universal suffrage.
As one of the world’s leading international financial centres, Hong Kong has a major capitalist service economy characterised by low taxation and free trade. The currency, Hong Kong dollar, is the eighth most traded currency in the world as of 2010. Hong Kong was once described by Milton Friedman as the world’s greatest experiment in laissez-faire capitalism. It maintains a highly developed capitalist economy, ranked the freest in the world by the Index of Economic Freedom for 15 consecutive years. It is an important centre for international finance and trade, with one of the greatest concentrations of corporate headquarters in the Asia-Pacific region, and is known as one of the Four Asian Tigers for its high growth rates and rapid development from the 1960s to the 1990s. Between 1961 and 1997 Hong Kong’s gross domestic product grew 180 times while per-capita GDP increased 87 times over.
The Hong Kong Stock Exchange is the seventh largest in the world, with a market capitalisation of US$2.3 trillion as of December 2009. In that year, Hong Kong raised 22 percent of worldwide initial public offering (IPO) capital, making it the largest centre of IPOs in the world and the easiest place to raise capital. Hong Kong’s currency is the Hong Kong dollar, which has been pegged to the U.S. dollar since 1983.
The Hong Kong Government has traditionally played a mostly passive role in the economy, with little by way of industrial policy and almost no import or export controls. Market forces and the private sector were allowed to determine practical development. Under the official policy of “positive non-interventionism”, Hong Kong is often cited as an example of laissez-faire capitalism. Following the Second World War, Hong Kong industrialised rapidly as a manufacturing centre driven by exports, and then underwent a rapid transition to a service-based economy in the 1980s. Since then, it has grown to become a leading center for management, financial, IT, business consultation and professional services.
=====
Hong Kong is located on the south east coast of China and consists of a large number of islands and a part of the mainland totalling approximately 1,064 sq km.
On July 1, 1997 all of Hong Kong reverted from British control back to China and became a Special Administration Region ‘SAR’ within the People’s Republic of China (PRC). It has a population of about 7 million.
Under the ‘one country – two systems’ philosophy, the SAR has executive, legislative, and independent judicial power.
The capitalist system, legal structure, and lifestyle remain unchanged.
Hong Kong remains a free port with a free flow of capital and a freely convertible Hong Kong dollar.
As a result, Hong Kong elects its own legislature and maintains its own court structure. Hong Kong has excellent communication facilities and a major new international airport which opened in 1998.
Hong Kong is the leading SE Asian centre for both finance and commerce and ranks as the world’s third largest financial centre after New York and London.
The official languages are English and Chinese, with English being used in the commercial and political context. The local currency is the Hong Kong Dollar, which is officially pegged to the US Dollar at a rate of 1USD = HK$7.78. Hong Kong has no exchange controls.
The legal system is based on the UK common law.
Hong Kong Private Limited Company Information:
- Type of legal entity: Private Limited
- Type of law: Common
- Shelf company availability: Yes
- Minimum government fees (excluding taxation): USD450
- Corporate tax: Zero on Profits earned outside HK
- Double taxation treaties: Yes
- Standard share capital currency: HK$
- Minimum paid up: HK$1
- Usual authorised: HK$1,000
- Minimum number of Directors: One
- Local required: No
- Publicly accessible records: Yes
- Location of meetings: Anywhere
- Minimum number of shareholders: One
- Publicly accessible records: Yes
- Location of meetings: Anywhere
- Company Secretary Requirement: Yes
- Local or qualified: Local
- Requirement to prepare accounts: Yes
- Audit requirements: Yes
- Requirement to file accounts: Yes
- Publicly accessible accounts: No
- Requirement to file annual return: Yes
- Change in domicile permitted: No
