China FICE

Unlike a China WOFE (Wholly-Owned Foreign Enterprise), a China FICE can open and operate branch offices anywhere within China. Furthermore, a China FICE can be 100% foreign owned.

Foreign investors planning on setting up a China FICE should note that there are no annual turnover or minimum asset requirements. Previous regulations required an annual average turnover of at least US$2.5 billion in the three years before the application and a minimum asset value of US$300 million in the year prior to the application.

Investors planning to further their business scope in China can upgrade their China representative office to a China FICE.

Setting up a China FICE can take up to 3 months, if all supporting information and documents are available.

A China FICE must inject a minimum 20% of the paid up capital into a corporate bank account within the first month of incorporation. The 80% balance is injected into the account in installments within two years of incorporation. The minimum registered capital required for; trading rights is RMB1 million (US$145,700),wholesale distribution rights is RMB500,000 (US$72,800) and for retail distribution rights it is RMB300,000 (US$43,700).

China company law regulations allow foreign companies to undertake manufacturing activities in China. A manufacturing FICE is similar to a WOFE but with an import/export license. Furthermore, wholesale China FICE must obtain approval from both the Ministry of Commerce in Beijing, as well as the authorities in the province in which it intends to set up. A retail China FICE, on the other hand, must obtain approval only from provincial authorities to open a retail store in China.

A China FICE is the optimum way for a foreign company to distribute its products in China. There are two main types of China FICE as follows:

• Wholesale China FICE - a wholesale China FICE may conduct commodity wholesale; commission-based agency activities; import and export of commodities; warehousing services; marketing services; product installation and after-sales services; indirectly engage in retail activities via franchisees.
• Retail China FICE - a retail China FICE may conduct commodity retailing activities; import merchandise; source and export Chinese products; conduct TV and telemarketing, mail order sales, Internet sales and vending machine sales. If applying to open a shop at the same time as applying to establish the retail China FICE, a proposed shop must conform to the urban development plan and the commercial development plan of the city where it is situated. If applying to open a shop after the establishment of the retail China FICE, then in addition to meeting the above requirement, the enterprise must also have undergone annual inspection on time and passed, and have received all of its registered capital from its investors.

Our fees to set up a China FICE amount to US$8,500

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