| In
this Section:
-
HONG KONG BANKING AND
FINANCIAL SERVICES
- HONG KONG THE SECURITIES
MARKET
- HONG KONG VENTURE CAPITAL
SECTOR
- HONG KONG INVESTMENT FUND
MANAGEMENT
- HONG KONG FINANCIAL HOLDING
AND INVESTMENT ACTIVITIES
- HONG KONG HEADQUARTERS
COMPANIES
- HONG KONG BOOKING
CENTRE COMPANIES
- HONG KONG PROFESSIONAL
SERVICES
- HONG KONG INSURANCE
- HONG KONG SHIP MANAGEMENT
AND MARITIME OPERATIONS
The
chief factors driving Hong Kong's economic success
are a combination of its non-discriminatory low
tax regime under which only income derived from
or arising in the jurisdiction is taxable and
its geographical proximity and historical entrepot
role for western trade with and investment into
mainland China.
This
section of the site describes the most important
types of international business activity carried
out from the SAR.
While
Hong Kong has a large and vibrant local business
community, it is also home to the largest community
of multinational firms in Asia. This is in part
due to the territory's colonial roots, which have
for the past 150 years made it the natural hub
in Asia for British companies, and, in part, to
its consistent and longstanding reputation for
openness, simplicity of operation and institutional
familiarity. As a result, more than 5,000 multinational
companies maintain regional offices or headquarters
in the territory.
Hong
Kong is one of the world's leading centres for
overseas firms. Over 200 of the Fortune 500 companies
have a presence in the territory. The American
Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, with more than
1,100 corporate members, is the largest American
Chamber outside of North America. The Japanese
Chamber in Hong Kong reports that more than 2,000
Japanese companies operate from the territory.
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
in 2006.
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 in 2006.
The
total number of live companies registered at the
end of June 2007 was 622,318, up 30,374 on the
end of 2006. The total number of overseas companies
stood at 7,854 at the end of June, 145 more than
last year's total.
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 major transshipment and re-export centre,
activities which in turn fuel strong demand for
trade support services such as banking and financing.
In the wake of the Asian financial crisis new
laws were passed which encourage financial transparency
such as the Organized and Serious Crimes (Amendment)
Ordinance which came into operation in June, 2000.
The law requires money changers and remittance
agents to follow anti-money laundering measures
such as customer identification and keeping transaction
records for transactions over HKD8,000. It has
helped to prevent criminals from using non-bank
financial busineses as conduits for money laundering.
-
HONG KONG BANKING AND
FINANCIAL SERVICES
- HONG KONG THE SECURITIES
MARKET
- HONG KONG VENTURE CAPITAL
SECTOR
- HONG KONG INVESTMENT FUND
MANAGEMENT
- HONG KONG FINANCIAL HOLDING
AND INVESTMENT ACTIVITIES
- HONG KONG HEADQUARTERS
COMPANIES
- HONG KONG BOOKING
CENTRE COMPANIES
- HONG KONG PROFESSIONAL
SERVICES
- HONG KONG INSURANCE
- HONG KONG SHIP MANAGEMENT
AND MARITIME OPERATIONS
|
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