Northeast Asia companies in 2023
| Summary at a Glance | Korea | Japan | China | Taiwan | Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total company set up costs | US$13,093 | US$21,360 | US$18,085 | US$17,690 | US$10,105 |
| Subsequent annual costs (incl audit and tax) | US$9,000 | US$14,050 | US$5,500 | US$12,730 | US$11,295 |
| How long to set the company up? | 2 weeks | 6 weeks | 12 weeks | 1 week | 1 weeks |
| How long to open company bank account? | 2 weeks | 3 weeks | 6 weeks | 3 weeks | 4 weeks |
| Issued share capital required | US$1 | US$1 | US$15,000 | US$1 | US$1 |
| Corporate bank account location | Citibank Seoul | Shinkei Tokyo | HSBC Shanghai | SCB Taipei | HSBC HK |
| Tenancy agreement required before incorporation? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Do you travel for company incorporation? | No | No | No | Yes | No |
| Resident director required? | No | No | No | No | No |
| Legal considerations | |||||
| Resident shareholder required? | No | No | No | No | No |
| Minimum number of directors | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Minimum number of shareholders | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Resident company secretary required? | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Individual shareholders allowed | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Corporate shareholders allowed | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Corporate director(s) allowed | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Public register of shareholders and directors | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Tax and accounting considerations | |||||
| Corporate tax payable % | 25% | 23.2% | 25% | 20% | 16.5% |
| Statutory audit required | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Annual tax return to be submitted | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Access to how many double tax treaties | 85 | 64 | 100 | 27 | 31 |
| Tax exempt free zones available | Incheon Busan |
Okinawa Nagasuku Nagasaki |
Hainan Shanghai Guangzhou |
Kaohsiung Keelung Taichung |
None |
| Resident company for local tax purposes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Withholding tax payable on dividends | 22% | 20% | 10% | 20% | 0% |
| How long to get work permit approved | 3 months | 3 months | 3 months | 3 months | 3 months |
| Can the entity hire expatriate staff in the country? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Logistics considerations | |||||
| Allowed to sign sales contracts with local clients | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Allowed to invoice local clients | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Average monthly salary of skilled labour | US$3,000 | US$4,000 | US$1,000 | US$3,500 | US$4,000 |
| Average monthly salary of unskilled labour | US$1200 | US$1400 | US$450 | US$950 | US$1000 |
| English spoken by what % of the people | 10% | 15% | 1% | 15% | 46% |
| Literacy rate % | 98% | 99% | 92% | 98% | 93% |
| Computer literacy rate % | 90% | 90% | 50% | 85% | 80% |
| Office city rental per square meter per month | US$18 | US$22 | US$12 | US$18 | US$30 |
| Warehouse rental per square meter per month | US$10 | US$20 | US$6 | US$10 | US$25 |
| Internet connectivity rating | Excellent | Excellent | Poor | Very Good | Excellent |
| GDP per capita (US$) | 25,977 | 38,633 | 6,807 | 31,900 | 38,124 |
| Government liberal or controlling of daily business | Liberal | Moderate | Strict | Strict | Liberal |
| Tertiary enrollment rate | 97% | 61% | 30% | 84% | 67% |
| Ease of doing business global ranking (lower the better) | 4 | 34 | 84 | 11 | 5 |
| Population | 50 million | 127 million | 1.357 billion | 23 million | 7.1 million |
| Unemployment rate | 2.9% | 3.9% | 6.4% | 4% | 3.3% |
| Inflation rate | 0.6% | 1.6% | 0.8% | 0.31% | 2.9% |
| GDP US$ | 1.31 trillion | 4.92 trillion | 9.24 trillion | 474 billion | 274bn |
| Average annual growth | 3.0% | 1.6% | 7.7% | 0.05% | 2.9% |
| Estimate of engagement costs | US$ | US$ | US$ | US$ | US$ |
| Healy Consultants engagement fees | 3,500 | 5,950 | 6,400 | 6,640 | 3,350 |
| Legal registered office fees | 3,500 | 1,200 | 0 | 3,600 | 1,550 |
| Government fees | 350 | 570 | 550 | 550 | 255 |
| Tax registration fees | 940 | 940 | 950 | 1,950 | 0 |
| Healy Consultants Project management fees | 0 | 0 | 3,850 | 0 | 0 |
| Corporate bank account opening | 4,950 | 4,950 | 4,950 | 4,950 | 4,950 |
| Estimate of total outgoings in Year 1 | 13,093 | 21,360 | 18,085 | 17,690 | 10,105 |
| Draft sales invoice attached | View invoice PDF | View invoice PDF | View invoice PDF | View invoice PDF | View invoice PDF |
