1. Hong Kong streamlines company registration
Hong Kong’s Financial Services and Treasury Bureau (FSTB) has announced the launch of the
second phase of public consultation on the provisions of the Hong Kong Companies Bill as part
of its ongoing effort to reform the Hong Kong company law.
In order to make Hong Kong company law more business-friendly, the government has
launched a comprehensive effort to rewrite the Companies Ordinance. In this regard, the
Companies (Amendment) Bill 2010 and the Business Registration (Amendment) Bill 2010 were
gazetted in January 2010. While the Companies Bill aims at enhancing company formation
in Hong Kong, the Business Registration Bill will help in implementing a one-stop service for
company incorporation (with the Companies Registry) and business registration (with the
Inland Revenue Department). The new measures will help entrepreneurs with Hong Kong
company registration within one working day and simplify the regulatory regime for Hong Kong
companies.
The first phase of public consultation on the Companies Bill ended in March 2010 and
covered corporate governance matters and regulatory compliance. The second phase of
public consultation deals with business facilitation such as enforcing simplified accounting
requirements for private companies and small guarantee companies, streamlining financial
assistance provisions, introducing a solvency test for the reduction of share capital, allowing
electronic communication between a company and its members, enabling scrip-less holding and
trading of shares and debentures, etc.
At present, it takes around 4-7 working days to incorporate a company in Hong Kong. With
the new legislation in place, the Hong Kong company incorporation process can be completed
within one working day, which is the current norm for its main competitor Singapore. The
e-system will help businesses save on time, cost and resources. Hong Kong’s technology
drive and company law reform will improve business processes and enhance Hong Kong’s
attractiveness as a regional business hub.
Interested in doing business in Hong Kong? Find out more about Hong Kong Company
formation by visiting http://www.guidemehongkong.com