Worldwide
Setting up a company in Hong Kong
The gateway to China: two-tier 8.25 to 16.5 percent tax, possible exemption on offshore income, one-day incorporation.
At a glance
Profits tax
8.25% (first HK$2m), 16.5% above
Tax basis
Territorial; offshore profit can be exempt
VAT / capital gains
None
Incorporation
1 day, online
Hong Kong is the financial centre that opens onto mainland China and Asia-Pacific while keeping its English common law tradition. Profits tax is two-tiered: 8.25 percent on the first HK$2 million, 16.5 percent above. Tax is territorial; profit earned outside Hong Kong can be exempt if documented. There is no VAT, capital gains or dividend tax.
Incorporation runs online through the Companies Registry in a day; the conditions are a Hong Kong resident company secretary and a registered address. Audit is mandatory; banks require evidence of real activity from foreign founders, and account opening is the longest step.
Why here
When this jurisdiction is the right choice.
- Access to the Chinese market through CEPA and geography.
- Simple, low tax on a territorial basis.
- 100 percent foreign ownership, no currency controls.
- Asia's most developed banking and logistics infrastructure.
Entity types
Which structure, for whom.
Private company limited by shares
The standard form; at least one natural-person director, one shareholder, limited liability.
Branch (non-Hong Kong company)
Registered branch of a foreign company; no separate legal personality.
Representative office
Market research and liaison; no commercial activity.
Process
Formation step by step.
- 01Name check (English and/or Chinese)
- 02Articles and the NNC1 incorporation form
- 03Resident company secretary and registered address
- 04Companies Registry filing; certificate and Business Registration issued together
- 05Significant Controllers Register (SCR) set up
- 06Bank account: digital or traditional, with evidence of activity
- 07Sector licences where required
After formation
What has to happen every year.
- Annually audited financials and profits tax return
- Annual return (Companies Registry) and Business Registration renewal
- SCR kept current
- MPF retirement contributions for employees
Frequently asked
The in-country registry, licence and agent steps of the formation file run through our licensed formation partners in the relevant jurisdiction. Structure design, contracts, the bank file and the tax and notification effect on the Turkish side are managed by Defensible. Rates and thresholds summarise the headline rules at the time of writing; we check the current text together on your own file.
Is the offshore income exemption automatic?
No. You must show the tax authority, with contracts, correspondence and operational evidence, that the profit was generated outside Hong Kong; since 2023 there is also a substance test for passive income. The audit file is built for this from the start.
Let's work out which structure fits you in 15 minutes.
Tell us where you sell, who you are and what you are aiming at; we will say in the call which jurisdiction and entity type make sense. Formation itself is a separate engagement, scoped and priced there.
Book a 15-minute call