Hong Kong SAR, China

Starting a Business in

Hong Kong SAR, China

Below is a detailed summary of the bureaucratic and legal hurdles faced by entrepreneurs wishing to incorporate and register a new firm in Hong Kong SAR, China. It examines the procedures, time and cost involved in launching a commercial or industrial firm with up to 50 employees and start-up capital of 10 times the economy's per-capita gross national income.

This information was collected as part of the Doing Business project, which measures and compares regulations relevant to the life cycle of a small- to medium-sized domestic business in 185 economies. The most recent round of data collection was completed in June 2012.

Compare Hong Kong SAR, China to 184 other economies.

YearNew business densityNumber of new limited liability companies
2011 27.67148,329

  • Standardized Company

  • Legal Form: Limited Liability Company
  • Paid in Minimum Capital Requirement: None
  • City: Hong Kong

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No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Choose a company name and obtain a certificate of incorporation

A company name can be searched online free of charge at the Companies Registry, however the registrability of a company name can only be confirmed after an application has been processed. A certificate of incorporation will be issued upon the filing of an incomporation form (for companies limited by shares this is a Form NC1), a copy of the memorandum of association and articles of association (if any) and a Notice to Business Registration Office (IRBRI). The incorporation form contains comprehensive information on the address of the registered office and particulars of the first secretary and first directors of a company. With the implementation of the "e-Registry" in 2011, applicants can now complete the incorporation and business registration process by submitting electronic applications online to the Companies Registry. In straightforward cases, this enables registered users to complete the relevant procedures and download the electronic Certificate of Incorporation and Business Registration Certificate within one day. Paper submissions for incorporation normally require approximately four working days for the certificate to be issued.
1 day HKD 1,720 application fee + 0.1% of authorized share capital, capped at HKD 30,000+ HKD 450 for business registration levy.
2 Sign up Employee Compensation Insurance and Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) Schemes with a private company or a bank

Under the Employees’ Compensation Ordinance, an employer must possess a valid insurance policy to cover its employees (both full- and part-time) who are fatally injured or disabled due to accidents arising out of and during employment. In addition, all employees ages 18–65 and employed for 60 days or more under an employment contract (regardless of the number of work hours) must be covered by the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) Schemes Ordinance (except for persons exempted from the scheme) and be enrolled in an MPF scheme. The employer is also required to display the participation certificate issued by the Mandatory Provident Fund Authority at the work premises. The employer can arrange this insurance and the MPF scheme with any insurance company or bank in Hong Kong.
There are statutory requirements to regulate the insurance companies or banks selling and operating employee compensation insurance policies and MPF schemes.

• For employees' compensation insurance, section 40 of the Employees Compensation Ordinance (Cap.282) states that the policy needs to be issued by an "insurer", which must be authorised by the Insurance Authority (i.e. the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance) pursuant to s.8 of the Insurance Companies Ordinance (Cap.41).

• For MPF, sections 21 and 21A of the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Ordinance (Cap. 485) provide that only an "approved trustee" can register a provident fund scheme with MPFA, so it is incorrect to say that the company can arrange MPF scheme with any insurance company or bank.

1 day no charge
3 Make a corporate seal and company rubber stamp


1 day HKD 215
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