Six Best Business Opportunities in Hong Kong

Are you thinking of expanding your company to Hong Kong but do not have a business idea? Hong Kong is a business paradise and most companies that go there use it as a springboard to success. So, which are the best types of businesses to consider after registering a company in Hong Kong? Keep reading to learn more about the best business opportunities in Hong Kong.

Why Hong Kong?

One of the main reasons Hong Kong has stood out as the most preferred investment destination for foreign investors is its strategic location. Positioned at the heart of Asia, Hong Kong makes it easy for businesses to reach entire Asia, from China to Japan. The expanded market means you have the opportunity to sustain high-sales and profitably. Other advantages of opening your business to Hong Kong include:

• Low and simple taxation.
• Highly skilled workforce.
• It is one of the freest economies on the globe.
• Freedom of capital movement.
• Hong Kong has entered into many bilateral agreements with different countries in Asia and across the globe.

Top Businesses that You Can Start in Hong Kong

Now that you know the benefits of registering a company in Hong Kong, which type of business is more profitable? Here is a list of six awesome business categories that you can open in Hong Kong.

• Tour and Travel Company

Every year, Hong Kong receives about 45 million tourists, making it one of the top industries for investors to target. A tour and travel company would be a great option because visitors seek help in areas such as arranging tickets, hotel reservations, transportation, guide services, and sightseeing.

As Hong Kong works toward overcoming the effects of COVID-19, the tourism sector is expected to rebound, and you can expect to grow your company fast. You can also liaise with other companies, such as hotels, in the neighboring countries to grow your network of client.

• Product Sourcing Company in Hong Kong

Today, one of the top manufacturing hubs is China, and you can set a company to help businesses easily buy what they want. Because opening a company in China requires a more complicated process, most import-export companies prefer basing their operations in Hong Kong.

The lovely thing about product sourcing is that you can get clients directly online and get the products they want. For example, e-commerce sites, wholesalers, and government agencies looking for high-quality and affordable products can reach for help. Make sure to always factor all logistics, including transport and applicable tariffs, when providing quotations to clients abroad.

• Manufacturing

As an international hub, a lot of people working, visiting, or passing through Hong Kong buy a wide range of products. Therefore, producing these items might be a great business idea in Hong Kong. Take some moment to study the items in high demand, focus on quality and market them well. Here are some of the top products you can manufacture and sell both in Hong Kong, Asia and entire globe.

• Clothing and beauty products.
• Computer accessories.

To be successful in Hong Kong, it is important to identify the best business opportunities and adopt good strategies. Remember that the Hong Kong market can be pretty competitive and it is important to study the competitors, and review your strategies regularly.

 

I Want to Grow My Business in Hong Kong: What Do I do To Succeed?

Growing a business into a global behemoth is every investor’s dream, but the path is always challenging. If you look at the top companies on the globe today, most of them grew after offshore incorporation. One of the leading offshore jurisdictions is Hong Kong because of its supportive administration. Keep reading to learn about the main tips for business success after company registration in Hong Kong.

Why Hong Kong?

The Hong Kong startup and FinTech ecosystem has won praise globally because of its support for businesses coming to Hong Kong to ensure they become successful. The ecosystem has become an important prong by the Hong Kong administration to support its business-based economy. This is why is why you should not be left behind in expensing your business to Hong Kong. Some of the major benefits of expanding your business to Hong Kong include:

• Hong Kong has a very straightforward tax regime.
• The island is strategically located in the heart of Asia. This makes it an awesome opportunity for businesses that target to grow rapidly into the Asian market.
• Well-developed infrastructure.
• An educated workforce.
• Registering a company is pretty easy.

Special Tips for Growing Your Hong Kong Business

One thing you need to appreciate about the Hong Kong market is that it is very competitive. Therefore, it is crucial to have a good operating strategy to outdo competitors and grow the enterprise rapidly.  Here are some tested and proven tricks to help your Hong Kong company grow rapidly.

·         Develop Good Business Trading Strategy

The business strategy you adopts determines whether the enterprise will become successful or not. Note that the strategy you select depends on the nature of the business, targeted audience, and product. Therefore, doo not just assume that a strategy that worked for a different firm will automatically work in your situation.

One of the common strategies is leveraging social media to grow your enterprise. This method works because a lot of people in Hong Kong are already on social media and you can reach them there. Through different social media platforms, you can tell the targeted clients about your products, harvest leads, and build a strong community. Finally, you can convert these leads and traffic into your customers.

·         Look for Way to Stay Ahead of the Competition

When you open a business in Hong Kong, the truth is that other firms are likely to be operational. This brings us to the main question, “How do you outdo the competition?” The best method is studying what they do, their products, targeted clients, and strategies. Then, develop better strategies to beat them in the market. Particularly, you should target outdoing them in product development and marketing strategies to win a bigger market share.

·         Make Continuous Improvement a Part of Your Strategy

Registering a company in Hong Kong and commencing operations only marks the first stages of running the enterprise in the island. The next steps will be very crucial in defining how successful the venture will be. To be sure of success, you should make continuous improvement part of your business strategy. This means that even when the performance of the company is good, you will always be looking for better methods of improving the product quality, and growing sales.

When you register a company in Hong Kong, the tips we have highlighted in this post can come in handy to help you grow it to the next level. In addition to using the listed strategies, consider bringing onboard an expert to help you with compliance and enriching your strategies.

 

Your Comprehensive Guide to Doing Business in Hong Kong

Hong Kong is a pillar of capitalism, and it has made a name for its low tax rates and supportive administration. For about two decades, Hong Kong has adopted pro-business policies and transparency in its government systems that make it easy for businesses to excel. So, if you are thinking of growing your business offshore, registering it in Hong Kong will be a great idea.

This post is a comprehensive guide to doing business in Hong Kong. Keep reading to understand everything that you need to run a successful company in Hong Kong.

Registering a Company in Hong Kong

The first step when it comes to doing business in Hong Kong is company registration. This process is defined in the Companies Ordinance, which outlines the require documents and all legal compliance. The main requirements for registering a company include a resident company secretary, articles of association, copies of passports of directors and shareholders, company address, and company name.

Register a Company in Hong Kong with the Help of an Agency

Notably, most people find registering a company in Hong Kong on their own a major challenge and expensive. For example, preparing major documents, such as the articles of association, is never easy for people without legal background. To address the challenge, the best option is using an agency.

Agencies are registered firms that are allowed by the Companies Ordinance to help foreigners register companies in Hong Kong. They are run by experts with a lot of experience in company registration and can help you to do the following:

• Carry name search on your behalf.
• Prepare all the documents required for company registration.
• Serve as your company secretary.
• Act as your Hong Kong address.
• Cut the cost of company registration because you do not need to fly to Hong Kong.

Post-Company Registration Requirements in Hong Kong

After registering your company, you need a few more things to do before commencing operations. The most notable is a bank account, which is a key requirement to help you get paid and pay bills. We must indicate that unlike registering a company with an agency, you will need to travel to Hong Kong when opening a bank account. Other requirements include:

• Preparing the Significant Controller’s Register (SCR).
• Applying for a business registration certificate (BRC).
• Additional licenses where applicable. If your business is in education, manufacturing, financial services, insurance, and medicine, check out with the Hong Kong administration to note the required permits and licenses.

Working with Experts to Make Your Hong Kong Successful

To propel your business in Hong Kong to success faster, it will be a great idea to consider bringing exerts to help you. The best idea is bringing the experts early enough so that they can help with both registration and growing our enterprise. Here are some of the activities that experts can help you with to grow your business in Hong Kong:

• Filing annual accounts.
• Accounting and bookkeeping.
• Applying for business registration certificate.
• Preparing, maintaining and updating the significant controllers’ register.
• Drawing your business operation’s strategy.

Opening a business in Hong Kong is like giving it a strong boost, meaning that your chances of success will be very high. To make the process easy and effective, you should consider working with an agency of experts. It will not only help with company registration, but can also help with other important actions, such as filling annual returns and crafting a good strategy.

 

Tax Resident in Hong Kong: How Does it Work

Some people argue that a business registered under the Hong Kong Companies Ordinance is automatically considered a tax resident. While this is true, it is important to appreciate that Hong Kong administration considers failure to demonstrate economic substance to mean that the company has shifted it to another jurisdiction.

The impact of this is that your company might get denied tax resident certificate and suffer from double taxation, in Hong Kong and countries it has signed double tax treaties with. Here is all that you need to know about tax residence and tax substance in Hong Kong.

A Closer Look at Tax Substance in Hong Kong

Notably, there is no clear definition of tax substance in the Hong Kong laws. However, the term is used to mean that a company is contributing significantly to the Hong Kong jurisdiction. As an island with little or no minerals or land for agriculture, Hong Kong spares no effort to ensure that companies operating support its business-based economy.

When a business applies for a tax resident certificate, the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) indicates that it considers two things;

• A firm is incorporated in Hong Kong.
• A firm incorporated outside Hong Kong but has most of the operations managed in Hong Kong.

However, we must say that a lot more than the above two factors are checked before the certificate is issued. This means that even if your firm is incorporated in Hong Kong, it might still fail to qualify for a tax resident certificate. Some things that might make you fail to get the certificate include not filing tax returns correctly and on time, and breaking other Hong Kong laws.

Why You Need to Demonstrate Tax Substance in Hong Kong

After incorporating businesses in Hong Kong, most investors want to grow their enterprises into both the neighboring countries as well as globally. However, this is only possible if you demonstrate tax substance. See the main benefits of demonstrating economic substance:

• It is the Gateway to Enjoying the Benefits of DTAs

Hong Kong has entered into more than 40 double tax agreements (DTAs) with different countries across the globe. To enjoy the full benefits of these DTAs, you have to get a tax resident certificate from IRD after demonstrating tax substance. Some of the benefits of DTAs include lower withholding tax rates on interest on dividends and royalties, and avoid capital gains tax.

• It Gives Your Company an Advantage Over Competitors

By demonstrating tax substance, you get an added advantage over other companies in Hong Kong because you can easily expand globally. So, go ahead and extend your reach, such as a identifying and working with partners, in different countries to grow sales.

How to Demonstrate Tax Substance

The following are some key activities on how to demonstrate tax substance for your company:

• Manage your company or most of its operations from Hong Kong.
• Make sure some of the directors or senior managers stay in the island.
• Have a functional office in Hong Kong.
• Hold regular meetings in the island.
• Ensure you have staff residing in Hong Kong.
• Have some of the company’s cash stored in Hong Kong.

Opening a business in Hong Kong is the first step to growing its presence globally. By demonstrating tax substance in Hong Kong, the process of global expansion becomes pretty easy because you can take advantages of DTAs. Consider working with an expert agency to help you understand the concept of tax substance more effectively and get tax resident certificate from IRD.  

Does Your Company Require a Business Registration Certificate

After incorporating a company in Hong Kong, you need one more thing – registering it with the Business Registration Office. You will be issued with a business registration certificate (BRC) which you are required to always display at your company’s head office for inspection by Hong Kong authorities. This post is a closer look at BRC to help you answer the question, “Does your business need one?”

What Exactly is Business Registration?

Business registration involves registering a company to run its operations in Hong Kong. You are required to make an application to the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) to get issued with a business registration certificate (BRC). Simply put, this certificate implies that you have notified IRD about the business and the company is now official. The business registration certificate

Which Businesses are Required to Have a Business Registration Certificates?

Hong Kong Business Registration law requires every individual running a business in its jurisdiction to have a business registration certificate. However, there are some exceptions. So, here is a complete list of the businesses that require and those that do not:

• Any Type of Business or Activity Opened to Make profit

If you come to Hong Kong to run a business, such as retail enterprises and manufacturing, the law requires you to apply for a business registration certificate. You are required to register the business within one month of opening the enterprise for business.

• Clubs Offering Membership for Sale

One of the most lucrative businesses in Hong Kong is running clubs and selling membership. These are enterprises such as gyms and meeting rooms that charge alumni for a fee. In order to continue offering these services, you should get a business registration certificate and display it in the headquarters.

• Representative Offices in Hong Kong

If your Hong Kong company is a representative of the parent firm back home, it might have mandates such as finding local vendors and running marketing tasks. These events are expected to help the parent company win a competitive advantage in the market and grow its sales. So, you are required to register with the Business Registration Office after setting up operations in Hong Kong.

Other businesses that are required to have a business registration certificate include, non-Hong Kong companies with properties in the island, hospitality companies, and consultancies.

Only the following activities are required not to have a business registration certificate in Hong Kong:

• Approved charity organizations.
• Businesses dealing with agriculture, rearing livestock, fishing and gardening.
• Individual shoe polisher businesses.
• Hawking business. In this case, you will need to get a license under the Hawker Regulation.

Apply for Business Registration Certificate Using an Agency

Although you are required to apply for the business registration certificate one month after starting operations, working with an agency can help to greatly simplify the process. The agency can help you to apply for both the certificate of incorporation and business registration certificate at the same time. This implies that you will receive both certificates at the same time.

Note that the agency of experts will not just help with company incorporation and business registration, but you can also rely on it to act as the company secretary and crafting market entry strategies.

Business registration in Hong Kong is a statutory requirement, and you should adhere to it to avoid incurring penalties. As far as your business is formed to make profits, it is paramount to have a business registration certificate (BRC). Consider working with an agency of experts because it can also hold your hand during company registration and entry into the Hong Kong market.

 

Building Partnerships to Grow Your Hong Kong Business

Mention the term “Hong Kong” and most investors will tell you one thing – it is the perfect springboard to transform a business into a successful multinational. This is made possible by the excellent business environment created by the Hong Kong administration. Once you incorporate a company in Hong Kong, here are some unique benefits to anticipate:

• Hong Kong serves as the “gateway” to the mainland China.
• Expanding to the rest of the Asian market is pretty easy.
• High internet penetration.
• An educated workforce.

These are only a few of the many benefits you will get for opening a business in Hong Kong. To grow both in Hong Kong and entire Asia, you should consider building the enterprise on partnerships. They will not only make it easy to penetrate the Hong Kong market, but also clear the way for greater success.

Partner with Target Consumer Groups

The primary goal of a business is to build a large customer base as a strategy for growing sales and profits. You can easily achieve this by entering into partnerships with clients. Start by identifying the targeted consumer groups and understanding what they want. For example, a company dealing with fitness programs can liaise with gyms, institutions, fitness product designers, and hospitals and seek partnerships.

You can also create partnerships online, especially through social media. Here, you can use blogs and other digital content to bring potential clients onboard to understand what they need. You can even ask for product improvement suggestions from client and create special offers for them to make them feel valued and attached to your business.

Liaise with Partners in Other Jurisdictions to Grow Your Enterprise

How do you grow your enterprise from Hong Kong to China and entire Far East? Now that your company is registered in Hong Kong, the idea of registering again in all the target countries might not be the best, but you can access them through partnerships. Consider identifying potential business partners in China and other counties and work with them. Some unique benefits of working with offshore partners include:

• You get quick access to the foreign market.
• Your business can easily exploit the established supply networks of partners in the new market.
• This can be a great way to lay foundation for opening companies in more countries.

Work with an Agency of Experts

This is perhaps the most important partnership that you should form for your company in Hong Kong. As experts, they can help you with a wide range of things to make your company to stand out. If you bring the expert agency early enough, it can help you with company incorporation in Hong Kong, which includes preparing the required documents and even acting as your company secretary.

Agencies also come in handy in helping your enterprise demonstrate tax substance, file tax returns, and bookkeeping. Because they have been in the Hong Kong market for some time, working with agencies can tell you the strategies that work and those that do not.

When joining the Hong Kong market, it is crucial to be creative, and crafting partnerships is an awesome idea. As we have demonstrated, the partnerships can help you register the company, build a large customer base, and grow the enterprise beyond Hong Kong.