Northeast Asia companies in 2024

Summary at a Glance Korea Japan China Taiwan Hong Kong
Total company set up costs US$13,093 US$20,325 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 5,150 6,400 6,640 3,350
Legal registered office fees 3,500 1,200 0 3,600 1,550
Government fees 350 335 550 550 255
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 20,325 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

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For additional information on our incorporation services, please contact our in-house country expert, Ms. Chrissi Zamora, directly:
client relationship officer - Chrissi