Hong Kong offshore company in 2023

Hong Kong tax regulations allow foreigners to register companies in Hong Kong which can be legally exempt from Hong Kong corporate income tax. Such entities can be registered with a paid up capital of only US$1 and are usually “paper companies”, that is to say businesses without any staff in Hong Kong. Please read the page below for further details on the advantages of doing business with a Hong Kong offshore company.

Why setup a Hong Kong offshore company?

• A Hong Kong offshore company is an attractive vehicle to legally minimize international taxation. The company will be exempt from Hong Kong corporate income tax on foreign-sourced income. It will also benefit from the absence in Hong Kong of capital gains tax and withholding tax on earnings remitted overseas;
• The above and the fact that Hong Kong has signed thirty six double taxation avoidance treaties also makes a Hong Kong offshore company a great holding vehicle. Please refer to our tax planning page for more information on prevailing corporate tax rules in Hong Kong and tax optimisation strategies;
• Hong Kong is also an ideal gateway to enter into the Chinese market, as the City benefits from better access to the Renminbi than Singapore and other Asian trading hubs.

Important considerations before registering a Hong Kong offshore company

• Unlike many other low tax jurisdictions, Hong Kong is usually not perceived as a tax neutral jurisdiction by foreign Government and banks;
• The Hong Kong Government require all locally registered companies to disclose the identity of their directors and shareholders through an online Companies Registrar. Healy Consultants can however provide nominee shareholder and director services to Clients who are able to demonstrate they have legitimate reasons to protect their identity during our due diligence process;
• It is also mandatory for all Hong Kong companies to submit audited financial statements to the authorities. No audit exemption is available, even for small businesses;
• All Hong Kong banks will require our Clients to travel before approving a local corporate bank account. No exception to this rule. However, Healy Consultants can assist our Clients to open corporate bank accounts overseas. See this page for a sample of no travel quality corporate banking options.

Healy Consultants services

In order to support our Clients’ Hong Kong businesses, our Firm will be pleased to offer the following services:

• Virtual office services – They can include i) provision of a registered address in Hong Kong which our Clients can also include in their corporate documents ii) phone calls, fax and emails forwarding and iii) call centre support;
• Corporate bank account opening services – our Firm will assist our Client to secure corporate bank account numbers and merchant account numbers in or outside of Hong Kong with top tier banks including HSBC, DBS, Citibank and Standard Chartered;
• Corporate finance – Our team will assist our Client to obtain trade finance from Hong Kong and overseas banks;
• Accounting and taxation support – we can discharge our Clients from accounting and reporting requirements, including preparation audit and filing of financial statements and tax returns;
• HR support – we can assist our Clients to recruit staff both in and outside of Hong Kong. If needed, we can additionally prepare and submit applications for work permits.

Table comparing offshore and onshore companies