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When people speak of a Hong Kong company they nearly always mean a private company limited by shares under the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 622), with an English name ending in “Limited”. It can trade, invoice abroad, hold shares in other companies and, once licensed, carry on a regulated activity such as money lending. Hong Kong has no offshore or IBC form, so a company sold as a Hong Kong offshore company is this same Limited; its appeal is a tax system that reaches only profits arising in or derived from Hong Kong.
| Form | What it is | Typical user |
|---|---|---|
| Private company limited by shares | A new legal person with one or more members, no minimum capital and no par value on its shares | A founder or foreign parent wanting limited liability |
| Registered non-Hong Kong company | The foreign company itself, registered within a month of setting up a place of business in Hong Kong, with an authorised representative there | An existing company trading in Hong Kong under its own name |
| Re-domiciled company | A foreign corporation that moves its domicile under Part 17A, possible since 23 May 2025 | A group bringing an existing company to Hong Kong |
The requirements and the incorporation filing are set out on our page on Hong Kong company formation.
| Tax | Position of a Hong Kong company |
|---|---|
| Profits tax | 8.25% on the first 2 million Hong Kong dollars of assessable profits, 16.5% on the remainder; among connected entities only one may elect the lower tier for a year |
| Territorial scope | Only profits arising in or derived from a business carried on in Hong Kong; profits arising abroad are not taxed, even if brought into Hong Kong |
| Foreign-sourced passive income | For members of multinational groups, interest, dividends, IP income and disposal gains received in Hong Kong count as Hong Kong sourced unless an exception, such as economic substance, is met |
| VAT, withholding tax on dividends, capital gains tax | None of the three |
| Double taxation agreements | 60 comprehensive agreements signed, 51 in force, on the Inland Revenue Department’s list |
Whether a profit is Hong Kong sourced turns on what the company does and where its people do the work, not on where the owner lives or banks.
Hong Kong sets no residency, nationality or work-permit test for members or directors: one person living abroad can hold every share and be the only director, if at least one director is a natural person. Two things must be local, the registered office and the company secretary, who is an individual ordinarily resident in Hong Kong or a body corporate with its registered office or a place of business there, and never the sole director.
Beneficial owners are recorded privately. Since 1 March 2018 every unlisted company keeps a Significant Controllers Register in Hong Kong, listing anyone with more than 25% of the shares or voting rights, the right to appoint or remove most of the board, or significant influence or control. It is never delivered to the Companies Registry, and law enforcement officers may inspect it on demand. The public file shows the directors and, through each annual return, the members.
Providing a secretary, a registered office or nominee services in Hong Kong by way of business requires a trust or company service provider licence from the Companies Registry under Part 5A of Cap. 615, so we arrange the secretary, and a nominee director or nominee shareholder if you want one, only through such a licensee; a nominee director carries every duty of the office, including care, skill and diligence under section 465 of the Companies Ordinance, and the significant controllers register treats shares a nominee holds for you as held by you.
A company that declares itself dormant by special resolution files no annual returns and needs no audit until it enters an accounting transaction.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority tells banks not to refuse an application merely because directors or beneficial owners live elsewhere. The practical barrier is identity: most published online routes expect a Hong Kong or Mainland identity card from every connected person, and several products exclude corporate shareholders or directors. Company deposits are protected up to 800,000 Hong Kong dollars per depositor at each member of the Deposit Protection Scheme. Taking over a company that already banks in Hong Kong is realistic for a buyer the bank accepts: the account remains the company’s, and the bank reviews the incoming owners, then keeps it, asks for more or closes it. See our pages on bank accounts for Hong Kong companies and shelf companies with bank accounts.
A new company suits most founders: you set the name and the articles, and the Registry’s published processing time for an electronic incorporation is short, so waiting rarely decides the matter.
A ready-made company is worth buying when its date of incorporation does something for you, for instance where a bank product or a counterparty asks for a company established for more than a year. It brings no trading history, no licence and, with no VAT in Hong Kong, no tax number a new company would lack. The transfer, the stamp duty and the filings are covered on our Hong Kong readymade company page.
Many people looking for a Hong Kong company for sale want one with a licence, usually a money lender company or a licensed money service operator (MSO), and neither licence changes hands the way shares do. The Commissioner of Customs and Excise must approve in writing before anyone becomes a director or an ultimate owner of an MSO, meaning more than 25% of the shares or votes or ultimate control of management. A money lender reports a change of directors or shareholders to the Registrar of Money Lenders, and its controllers must stay fit and proper. Either way the regulator decides whether the licence survives the new ownership, and the public registers of Customs and the Companies Registry show whether an advertised licence is real. A shelf company holds none.
See also our Hong Kong vs Singapore comparison, our page on registering and buying a Hong Kong company (in Russian) and our guide to off the shelf companies.
Our part is practical. We can form a new Limited or hand over a ready-made one, draw up the incorporation or share transfer documents and deliver the Registry filings, help you assemble the bank application and, where we have a working contact at a bank that suits the company, introduce you, with the decision on the account resting with the bank alone.
It can be: profits tax falls only on Hong Kong sourced profits, at 8.25% on the first 2 million Hong Kong dollars and 16.5% above, with no VAT, capital gains tax or withholding tax on dividends. The limits: every company that is not dormant is audited, multinational groups meet the FSIE rules on foreign passive income, and the owner’s home country may tax what the company earns.
You can buy the shares of a company holding a money lenders licence, but the licence is not simply carried across with them. The change of directors or shareholders goes to the Registrar of Money Lenders in writing within 21 days, controllers and directors must remain fit and proper, and the licence lasts 12 months before the licensing court considers renewal, where the Police may object. Check the Registry’s list of licensed money lenders first.
Not under company law: members and directors may live anywhere, and a licensed provider can supply the secretary and the registered office. Presence comes up with banks: the HKMA says a bank should not require every director to attend, yet some account routes still ask directors and signatories to sign, or have documents witnessed, in Hong Kong. Ask about the route before planning travel.
They differ on local roles and on tax. A Hong Kong company needs a resident secretary but no resident director, whereas a Singapore Pte Ltd must have a director ordinarily resident in Singapore and a secretary living there. Hong Kong taxes local profits at 8.25% and 16.5% and has no VAT; Singapore charges 17%, softened by exemptions, and GST at 9%. Our comparison of the two goes further.
Considering a Hong Kong company? Tell us whether you would rather form a new Limited or take over an existing one, and who will own and direct it, and we will set out what that would involve. Write through our contact page, or reach us on Telegram and WhatsApp at +48 663 247 166.