Register company
in Hong Kong in 1 day
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• Companies in Hong Kong can be registered in one or two days and fully online.
• The director of the company in Hong Kong can be a natural person of any nationality, it is not necessary to be a resident of Hong Kong and there are no requirements for the employment of a resident.
• A private limited liability company in Hong Kong must have a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 50 shareholders.
• There are no residency requirements for shareholders.
• Director and shareholder may be the same person or different persons.
• The minimum share capital is 1 Hong Kong dollar and can be expressed in any major currency without limitation to the Hong Kong dollar.

A private limited liability company in Hong Kong must comply with the following basic legal aspects on an annual basis:

• Maintain a valid status of the company’s registered address in Hong Kong.
• Have a corporate secretary in Hong Kong.
• Renew the business registration one month prior to expiration annually or every three years, depending on whether your Certificate is valid for one or three years. The original Certificate of Business Registration must be located at the registered address of your company in Hong Kong at all times.
• Submit the Annual Return to the Hong Kong Companies Registry within 42 days of the company’s date of birth. The Annual Return is a report in the prescribed form, containing details of the company, such as registered office address, shareholders, directors, secretary and other details.
• Hold the annual general meeting within 18 months of the date of incorporation; subsequent annual general meetings must be held every calendar year, with no more than 15 months between each annual general meeting.
• To keep up to date and maintain a Register of Significant Controllers of the company at the registered office of the company or such other place as may be prescribed in Hong Kong.

For any changes in registered data, the company must notify the Hong Kong Companies Registry. These can be the following changes:

• change of the company’s registered office in Hong Kong;
• details of shareholders and directors, including changes in their passport details;
• changes in the company’s share capital and memberships;
• change of the company secretary;
• change of address of the register of significant controllers.

As a rule the relevant notification should be submitted within 15 days from the date of change. In some cases it is also necessary to notify the Hong Kong Inland Revenue Department.

A company registered in Hong Kong is required to prepare and conduct an audit of its financial statements on an annual basis.  The financial report of the company in Hong Kong is a report which helps to evaluate the financial position of the company and its profit (loss) for the financial year. It consists of 3 sections:

• Balance Sheet, which shows the company’s assets, liabilities, and capital for the reporting period.
• Income statement, which shows the company’s profits, expenses, losses and earnings. Shows the company’s net profit after expenses for the reporting period.
• Cash flow statement, which shows cash flow and how it is used.

Once a company’s financial report in Hong Kong is prepared, a certified public accountant conducts an audit of the financial statements, the purpose of which is to confirm the accuracy of the financial statements. After that, the audited financial statements are submitted to the Inland Revenue Department of Hong Kong as a compulsory supplement to the Income Tax Declaration. If the source of profit of the company was outside Hong Kong, a special application for income tax exemption in Hong Kong is also attached.

Documents subject to an apostille in Hong Kong can be divided into the following categories:

1) Original documents that are issued by government authorities and certified by the original stamp of the relevant authority that issued the document:

• Original company documents such as Certificate of Incorporation, Articles of Incorporation, NNC1 Registration Form, NAR1 Data Update Form, Company Particulars Form, Certificate of Continuing Registration, and other company issued by the Hong Kong Companies Registry.
• Original Certificate of Business Registration stamped by the Hong Kong Inland Revenue Department.
• Marriage certificate signed by an authorized person of the Civil Registry Office.
• Certificate of Absence of Marriage Record, signed by an authorized person of the Civil Registry Office.
• Birth and death certificates signed by an authorized person of the Civil Registry Office.

2) Documents certified by a Hong Kong public notary or commissioner under oath in Hong Kong. For example:

• Original or copy of power of attorney.
• Copies of passports.
• Copies of driver’s licenses.
• Copies of diplomas.
• Copies of civil documents (certificates of birth, death, marriage, no criminal record).
• Copies of company documents.

Consular legalization of documents is usually carried out by the consulate or embassy of the country for which the documents are legalized located in the country which issued the document. Consulate of each country has its own requirements for legalization of documents, but we can distinguish the general approach:

• notarization of documents by a public notary in Hong Kong;
• apostille of the documents at the Supreme Court of Hong Kong;

stamping of legalization at the relevant consulate or embassy.

As the owner of a registered trademark, you have the exclusive right to use the trademark for the goods and services for which it is registered.  If others use your registered trademark in Hong Kong (or a confusingly similar name) for the same or similar goods or services without your consent, you may bring an infringement action against them. You can use the ® symbol to indicate that your trademark is registered. If your trademark is not registered, you cannot use the ® symbol, but you can use the ™ symbol. Using the ® symbol with an unregistered trademark is a criminal offense.

Application for a residence permit (visa) for entrepreneurs can be submitted if the following conditions are met:

• the applicant is the founder of a business in Hong Kong;
• there is no doubt about the criminal record of the applicant;
• the applicant has good education, proven professional abilities and/or relevant experience and achievements documented;
• the applicant’s business can make a significant contribution to the development of Hong Kong’s economy.

Any business in Hong Kong – operating for many years or a start-up business – can apply.

In order to dispel doubts about the choice of a potential partner in Hong Kong, it is advisable to conduct its verification. Available sources of information for verification:

• Public sources.
• Hong Kong Companies Registry database.
• Court decisions of various levels of courts.
• Other departments and government agencies which may be relevant to a particular company’s activities.

What kind of company data in Hong Kong can be verified?:

• Shareholders’ membership and data.
• Directors’ composition and data.
• The company’s registered address in Hong Kong.
• The share capital.
• Whether or not the company complies with applicable Hong Kong company laws.
• Whether the company complies with applicable business registration laws in Hong Kong.
• The existence of debts and penalties.
• History of changes in the company’s structure and its registered data.
• Decisions of Hong Kong courts against the company.
• The company’s actual presence in Hong Kong.

As well as other data depending on the particular situation.

There are 4 ways of winding up a company in Hong Kong.

1. Deregistration of the company. This is the most commonly used option for winding up companies.
2. Voluntary liquidation by shareholders’ decision.
3. Voluntary liquidation by decision of creditors.
4. Compulsory liquidation by court decision.