In
this Section:
Hong
Kong offers an unusually stable and efficient
business environment with the modern infrastructure
and telecommunications that could be expected
of the world's 9th largest economy. The territory's
economy could rightly be described as the most
laissez faire economy in the world. The government's
policy is strictly non-interventionist.
Government
controls and disclosure requirements on businesses
are minimal, except for public limited companies.
There are only minimal capitalization requirements
for private companies and financial statements
need not be filed if a company incorporates
as a wholly-owned subsidiary in Hong Kong. Six
month visas are normally granted to intending
residents with employment, and holders of dependant
visas (like spouses and children) are allowed
to accept employment with no special consents.
Hong Kong has no compulsory union membership
and copyright laws essentially follow those
of the United Kingdom, with Hong Kong a party
to the Paris Convention.
Although
a special administrative region of China the
territory is a British common law jurisdiction
which recognizes the concept of a trust. British
and Hong Kong company and trust law are virtually
identical and the tight secrecy, minimal corporate
disclosure and loose administrative requirements
that characterize some offshore island common
law jurisdictions either do not apply or have
little significance in the territory. In any
event Hong Kong does not consider itself an
offshore center in the traditional sense of
the word. (For further information on companies
and trusts see Forms
of Company.)
Bankers,
accountants, lawyers, and other professionals
who serve multinational firms have thrived in
a community of local firms that has become increasingly
transnational since the opening of the Mainland
to foreign trade and investment in the late
1970s. This deep-rooted local familiarity with
the needs of international business makes Hong
Kong an easy place in which to find joint-venture
partners and to find expatriate professionals.
Local staff can easily be recruited from local
companies which have a ready familiarity with
the dispersed operating needs of a multinational
business.
Hong
Kong is unsurpassed in the extent to which it
brings local and overseas firms together into
a single business community. The constant interaction
between thousands of overseas firms and local
businesses in a supercharged business environment
generates growth opportunities for both sides
in setting up international networks, entering
new lines of business, finding new sources of
supply and new markets and linking up with business
partners from Hong Kong, China and elsewhere.
As one local business executive observed: "For
multinational firms which seek out and thrive
from interaction with the local environment
and local firms, Hong Kong is the Asian location
without par."
According
to the results of an annual survey released
by Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) and the Census
and Statistics Department in October 2011, the
total number of overseas and Mainland Chinese
parent companies running business operations
in Hong Kong has recorded its highest level
to date, as, in particular, did the number of
those operating regional headquarters.
By
June 2011, the total number of foreign parent
companies with operations in Hong Kong had reached
6,948 companies, a 5.9 per cent increase from
2010. Within that total, the number of regional
headquarters was 1,340, an increase of 4.3%.
In
terms of sectors, finance and banking demonstrated
the most robust growth and, it was said, reinforced
Hong Kong's status as a world-leading international
financial centre. Finance and banking regional
headquarters increased by 5% to 135, while local
offices increased by 3% to 622.
With
regards to country of origin, roughly half the
parent companies came from four countries: the
US tops the list with a total of 1,263 companies,
followed by Japan with 1,085, Mainland China
with 789 and the UK with 505.
Director-General
of Investment Promotion, Simon Galpin, said:
"Hong Kong is the perfect base from which
to access Mainland China. At the same time,
Mainland companies are also using Hong Kong
as a springboard from which to go global."
"In
the first half of 2011,” he added, “InvestHK
assisted close to 200 overseas and Mainland
companies to set up business in Hong Kong. This
level of activity supports our experience on
the ground where we are seeing an increasing
number of smaller, high-growth companies from
all over the world choosing Hong Kong as the
base for their regional operations."
When
choosing to set up RHQs, ROs or LOs, the top
five factors in Hong Kong rated as most important
were its simple tax system and low tax rate,
free flow of information, corruption-free government,
absence of exchange controls, and political
stability and security.
Hong
Kong is a relatively expensive jurisdiction.
At the time of writing, professional charges
for initial incorporation may be USD1,400; and
the provision in the first year of a registered
office facility, nominee shareholders, nominee
directors and nominee secretary costs USD1,300.
Thereafter annual running costs which include
attendance to all statutory requirements, the
provision of a registered office facility, nominee
shareholders, nominee directors and nominee
secretary stand at USD2,250 per annum. Annual
audit, accounting and taxation services are
not included in the annual running costs fee
since they vary, are charged on a time cost
basis and so must be negotiated and billed separately.
In
a territory as densley populated as Hong Kong,
housing and office stock is limited, and therefore
remains comparatively expensive by international
standards. After a slump in property values
and costs in 2001-2003, in 2006 Hong
Kong leaped up the global office occupancy costs
league table and entered the top three most
expensive office locations in the world, according
to a survey by DTZ, the global property adviser.
DTZ's
2010 survey forecasts that Asia Pacific will
experience the strongest growth in occupancy
costs over the next four years as the region’s
economic growth is expected to continue to surpass
that in Europe and the United States. The region
features three of the world’s top five
fastest growing markets in terms of occupancy
costs per workstation – Hong Kong, Guangzhou
and Bengaluru, which are expected to grow by
8.82%, 4.84% and 4.36% respectively between
now and 2013 – with Hong Kong predicted
to emerge as the most expensive location in
Asia-Pacific, as supply constraints drive increases
in rents.
- HONG KONG PROFESSIONAL
SERVICES
- HONG KONG BANKING AND
FINANCIAL SERVICES
- HONG KONG TELECOMMUNICATIONS
- HONG KONG INTERNET AND
E-COMMERCE FACILITIES
- HONG KONG RESIDENCE
AND PROPERTY
- HONG KONG THE LABOUR
MARKET
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