Company Incorporation Guide
Hong Kong company registration, step by step
Applicable country/region: HK - Hong Kong SAR
Published: Updated:
- Written by our advisory team
- Hong Kong SAR rules and requirements
- Checked against official sources
Guide overview
Hong Kong company registration: the decisions in order
Registering a company in Hong Kong forms a private company limited by shares through one submission to the Companies Registry, which also counts as the application for business registration, so the two certificates are issued together. The decisions before it come in a fixed order. The name is searched first, because nothing reserves it and an identical name is refused. Then the director, the company secretary and the registered office, all named on Form NNC1. Then the Articles of Association, with Form NNC1 matching them share for share, and the choice of a one-year or three-year business registration certificate. The signed filing follows; the bank account comes last, on the bank's own timetable.
COMPANY TYPES
Hong Kong has no LLC: what takes its place
A search for a Hong Kong LLC ends at this entity: Hong Kong has no LLC, and the private company limited by shares does that job. Two features decide whether it fits. Under the Companies Ordinance its members are capped at 50, employees aside, and it may not invite the public to take up shares, so it suits a closely held business rather than one raising outside money. Its limited liability is also precise: a member's exposure stops at any amount still unpaid on the shares held, so an unpaid share stays callable. A group that already owns a company abroad can instead register that company in Hong Kong as a non-Hong Kong company.
Reading the company types
Rows cover ownership, shareholder and director rules, capital and notes for each company type.
Hong Kong SAR Limited Basic Information
Ownership:
Consolidated Ownership
Limited Liability:
Positive
Publicly Participates In Capital Market:
Negative
Hong Kong SAR Limited Registered Capital Requirement
Minimum Registered Capital Requirement:
1. Starting from HK$1 in principle;
2. Default of HK$10,000 upon company registration;
3. If exceeding HK$10,000, a stamp duty of 0.2% is required when converting shares.
2. Default of HK$10,000 upon company registration;
3. If exceeding HK$10,000, a stamp duty of 0.2% is required when converting shares.
Capital Injection Not Required:
Positive
REQUIRED DOCUMENTS
Why the identity file is not a Registry filing
The Companies Registry receives three documents and asks for no identity papers, so the identity file answers a different duty. Anyone who forms companies, supplies a registered office or acts as company secretary as a business needs a trust or company service provider licence, which carries customer due diligence under the anti-money-laundering law: who owns and controls the company and where its money came from. A corporate shareholder does not end those questions; they reach the people behind it. Identity papers meet the Registry only at the signature: online filings are signed from an Individual User account, which needs a certified true copy of the passport, so most founders abroad file through a licensed agent.
Reading the documents
Rows are document types grouped by who provides them; each entry ends with its process and format.
Natural Person Shareholders & Directors's Required Documents
Proof of Address:
Water, electricity, and gas bills or bank statements scans. The documents should clearly show the shareholder/director's name + address + a date that is not more than 1 month old.
Process: Not ApplicableFormat: Scan Copy
Other Documents:
Shareholders and directors' signature samples scanned
Process: Not ApplicableFormat: Scan Copy
Passport:
Passport/ID card handheld photo
Process: Not ApplicableFormat: Other
Passport/ID card front and back scans
Process: Not ApplicableFormat: Scan Copy
Legal Entity Shareholders's Required Documents
Other Documents:
If using a legal entity as a company shareholder, please contact the customer relationship manager.
Process: Other CertificationFormat: Other
REQUIREMENTS AND ESTIMATED COST
The residence rule sits on the secretary
Hong Kong requires local roles, filled from the day of incorporation onwards, not local owners or directors. Overseas founders often misread where the residence test sits: directors face none, and the Companies Ordinance places it on the company secretary. An individual secretary must ordinarily reside in Hong Kong, a corporate secretary needs a registered office or place of business there, and a sole director can never hold the office, nor can a corporate secretary whose only director is that same person. The registered office must be a Hong Kong address able to receive every notice, not a post office box, and a move is notified on Form NR1 within 15 days.
Reading the requirements
Base cost is the service and government fees; each requirement shows if it is included and what solving it costs; the estimate adds them up.
Base Cost
Service Fee:
CNY 7,250
Requirements
Registered Address: You need to have a Hong Kong SAR address.
To register a Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) company, it is necessary to have a Hong Kong SAR address. If there is no HKSAR address, you can choose the address hosting service provided by TKEG Expat. This service already includes one year of HKSAR address hosting.
To register a Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) company, it is necessary to have a Hong Kong SAR address. If there is no HKSAR address, you can choose the address hosting service provided by TKEG Expat. This service already includes one year of HKSAR address hosting.
Included: Yes ×1.00
Company Secretary: Must have a Hong Kong residents serving as company secretaries.
Hong Kong companies must have a Hong Kong resident serving as the company secretary. If there is no Hong Kong resident serving as the company secretary, the "Nominee Secretary Service" provided by the TKEG Expat could be utilized. This service includes one year of company secretary service.
Hong Kong companies must have a Hong Kong resident serving as the company secretary. If there is no Hong Kong resident serving as the company secretary, the "Nominee Secretary Service" provided by the TKEG Expat could be utilized. This service includes one year of company secretary service.
Included: Yes ×1.00
Estimated Cost
Estimated Cost:
CNY 7,250
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TAX
Registration settles the address, not the tax
The profits tax rates in this panel reach only profits sourced in Hong Kong, and registration alone does not place a company outside them. The Inland Revenue Department looks at what the company did to earn a profit and where, not at its address: under the territorial source principle, trading profits arise where the purchase and sale contracts are effected, and contracts concluded from Hong Kong by phone or online count as local. A company whose only presence is a Hong Kong registered office is likely to be chargeable. The first Profits Tax Return usually comes about 18 months after incorporation, yet a chargeable company must notify the Department in writing within four months after its basis period ends.
Reading the tax data
Rows cover corporate income, withholding, value-added and capital gains tax, plus effective rates, for each jurisdiction.
Corporate Income Tax (CIT)
General CIT Rate:
Corporations: 8.25% on the first HKD 2 million of assessable profits and 16.5% on the remainder; unincorporated businesses: 7.5% on the first HKD 2 million and 15% on the remainder.
CIT Return Due Date:
The tax return forms are typically released on the first working day of April each year. The filing deadline is usually within one month from the day the forms are released. Certain companies (e.g., those with a fiscal year ending on December 31) may have an extended filing deadline, typically until August 15 of the year the forms are released, and in certain circumstances (e.g., electronic filing), extensions may be granted.
CIT Payment Due Date:
For companies with a fiscal year ending on December 31st, the final tax payment for a specific tax year is typically due in November of the year when the tax return is filed.
CIT Estimated Payment Due Date:
For companies with a fiscal year ending on December 31st, interim taxes for a specific tax year will be paid in two installments, typically due in November of the current year and January of the following year.
Withholding Tax (WHT)
Resident Withholding Tax (Dividend/Interest/Royalty):
0/0/0
Non-Resident Withholding Tax (Dividend/Interest/Royalty):
0/0/2.475-4.95
Value-Added Tax (VAT)
Effective Tax Rate (ETR)
Composite Effective Average Tax Rate:
14.28
Composite Effective Marginal Tax Rate:
2.01
Conclusion
Four tests before the company can operate
A company is ready to do business in Hong Kong only after four separate tests: incorporation, business registration, any licence its sector needs and a bank account. The certificates settle the first two, and neither is a licence, so a regulated activity still needs its own permission. They also start a calendar: registers to write up, a Significant Controllers Register to build with a designated representative, and written notice to the Business Registration Office of what the business does within one month of starting it. Next comes the bank account, which no Registry filing speeds up and which the bank decides after its own review of the owners, the business model and the flow of funds.
Jurisdiction Overview
About Hong Kong SAR
Hong Kong SAR is one of the world's freest economies, offering low tax rates, no VAT, and a common law legal system. A premier gateway to mainland China and a leading financial and trade hub in Asia-Pacific.
View Complete InformationFrequently Asked Questions
A company's name may be in any language. Its limited liability status must be reflected in the word “Limited” at the end of the company name. The use of the words “bank”, “association”, “university”, “charity”, “architect” and related words in the name of the company is subject to conditions.
At least one shareholder is required to register a Hong Kong company. This can be a natural person or a company. The Hong Kong government does not have any requirements or restrictions on the nationality or legal domicile of the shareholders of a Hong Kong company.
No capital verification is required for the registration of a Hong Kong company.
The company's registered capital must be used for the company's day-to-day operating costs, such as paying for goodscosts, to pay accountants, to pay for the services of TKEG Expat.
A Hong Kong limited company must appoint a Hong Kong resident as company secretary, and the secretary's address is normally used as the company's registered address. A client with a genuine Hong Kong office may use it as the registered address, but government correspondence would then go directly to the client with no provider follow-up service. It is therefore generally recommended to keep the registered address at the nominee secretary office while the actual operating address remains the client's choice. Banks and e-commerce platforms distinguish registered address from operating address, so a nominee registered address causes no practical problems.
A shelf company is generally not worthwhile in Hong Kong because a brand-new incorporation completes very quickly (roughly 1-2 days). Registering a fresh company is usually preferable to purchasing a shelf company.
References
cr.gov.hk · register companycr.gov.hk · 4 ecr.gov.hk · part1 ecr.gov.hk · part10 ecr.gov.hk · directors secretarycr.gov.hk · part12 ecr.gov.hk · NR1 Specimen ecr.gov.hk · part16 ecr.gov.hk · G TCSPs (May2025)ecr.gov.hk · user registrationird.gov.hk · bus pft tspird.gov.hk · nocird.gov.hk · bel26ecr.gov.hk · 35 ecr.gov.hk · change of particulars
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