In
this Section:
Hong
Kong offers an unusually stable and efficient
business environment with the modern infrastructure
and telecommunications that could be expected
of the world's 9th largest economy. The territory's
economy could rightly be described as the most
laissez faire economy in the world. The government's
policy is strictly non-interventionist.
Government
controls and disclosure requirements on businesses
are minimal, except for public limited companies.
There are only minimal capitalization requirements
for private companies and financial statements
need not be filed if a company incorporates
as a wholly-owned subsidiary in Hong Kong. Six
month visas are normally granted to intending
residents with employment, and holders of dependant
visas (like spouses and children) are allowed
to accept employment with no special consents.
Hong Kong has no compulsory union membership
and copyright laws essentially follow those
of the United Kingdom, with Hong Kong a party
to the Paris Convention.
Although
a special administrative region of China the
territory is a British common law jurisdiction
which recognizes the concept of a trust. British
and Hong Kong company and trust law are virtually
identical and the tight secrecy, minimal corporate
disclosure and loose administrative requirements
that characterize some offshore island common
law jurisdictions either do not apply or have
little significance in the territory. In any
event Hong Kong does not consider itself an
offshore center in the traditional sense of
the word. (For further information on companies
and trusts see Forms
of Company.)
Bankers,
accountants, lawyers, and other professionals
who serve multinational firms have thrived in
a community of local firms that has become increasingly
transnational since the opening of the Mainland
to foreign trade and investment in the late
1970s. This deep-rooted local familiarity with
the needs of international business makes Hong
Kong an easy place in which to find joint-venture
partners and to find expatriate professionals.
Local staff can easily be recruited from local
companies which have a ready familiarity with
the dispersed operating needs of a multinational
business.
Hong
Kong is unsurpassed in the extent to which it
brings local and overseas firms together into
a single business community. The constant interaction
between thousands of overseas firms and local
businesses in a supercharged business environment
generates growth opportunities for both sides
in setting up international networks, entering
new lines of business, finding new sources of
supply and new markets and linking up with business
partners from Hong Kong, China and elsewhere.
As one local business executive observed: "For
multinational firms which seek out and thrive
from interaction with the local environment
and local firms, Hong Kong is the Asian location
without par."
According
to the results of the 2007 Annual Survey of
Regional Offices Representing Overseas Companies
in Hong Kong, conducted by the Census and Statistics
Department, there were 1,246 regional headquarters
(RHQs) and
2,644 regional offices (ROs) of companies incorporated
outside the territory
located in Hong Kong as of June 1, 2007. This
compares to 966 RHQs and 2,241 ROs at
the same point in 2003, the survey noted.
The United States topped the list of countries/territories
with companies that have RHQs in Hong Kong,
with a total of 298, followed by Japan with
232, UK with 124 and mainland China with 93
firms.
There
were 47,417 new local companies registered under
the Hong Kong Companies Ordinance in the first
six months of 2007, up 19.12% on the same period
last year, 32 newly listed companies on the
Main Board.
The total number of live companies registered
was 622,318,
Companies
Registry statistics show that 316 new overseas
companies established a place of business in
Hong Kong and registered under Part XI of the
Companies Ordinance in the first half of 2007,
up 12.46% on the same period last year. The
total number of overseas companies stood at
7,854.
In
2008 however, there was a slight dip in registrations.
The number of new local companies registered
in 2008 decreased by 2.1%, from 100,761 in 2007
to 98,645 at the end of 2008. By the end of
2008, the total number of live local companies
registered under the Companies Ordinance was
710,766, up 55,728 from that in 2007.
As
regards non-Hong Kong companies that have established
a place of business in Hong Kong, 872 had registered
under Part XI of the Companies Ordinance in
2008, an increase of 16.58% from 748 in 2007.
The total number of non-Hong Kong companies
stood at 8,487 at the end of 2008, 406 more
than in 2007.
Hong
Kong is a relatively expensive jurisdiction.
At the time of writing, professional charges
for initial incorporation may be USD1,400; and
the provision in the first year of a registered
office facility, nominee shareholders, nominee
directors and nominee secretary costs USD1,300.
Thereafter annual running costs which include
attendance to all statutory requirements, the
provision of a registered office facility, nominee
shareholders, nominee directors and nominee
secretary stand at USD2,250 per annum. Annual
audit, accounting and taxation services are
not included in the annual running costs fee
since they vary, are charged on a time cost
basis and so must be negotiated and billed separately.
After
a slump in property values and costs in 2001-2003,
in 2006 Hong
Kong leaped up the global office occupancy costs
league table and entered the top three most
expensive office locations in the world, according
to a survey by DTZ, the global property adviser.
DTZ’s
ninth annual Global Office Occupancy Costs survey
is a guide to accommodation costs in major prime
office locations covering 117 business districts
in 46 countries worldwide. It found that the
West End of London maintained its position as
the world's most expensive office location with
occupancy costs of USD18,740 per workstation
per year. Washington DC climbed two spaces to
become the second most expensive location with
occupancy costs of USD15,370.
However,
according to DTZ, the most notable finding was
the rate at which office occupancy costs have
increased in Hong Kong, posting a 61% increase
over the last decade to USD15,000 per workstation
per year. This resulted in the city climbing
13 places to become the world’s third most expensive
location.
The
report cites Hong Kong's positive business sentiment,
especially among investment banks, who have
displayed a greater willingness to pay for better
quality offices, as one reason why office costs
have soared in recent years. However, DTZ also
blames the rising costs on a lack of new Grade
A office space coming on to the market.
- HONG KONG PROFESSIONAL
SERVICES
- HONG KONG BANKING AND
FINANCIAL SERVICES
- HONG KONG TELECOMMUNICATIONS
- HONG KONG INTERNET AND
E-COMMERCE FACILITIES
- HONG KONG RESIDENCE
AND PROPERTY
- HONG KONG THE LABOUR
MARKET
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