Creating a company is possible while being resident of another country, indeed it is possible to Open a Hong Kong Company from Abroad. The steps of the incorporation process of a limited company in Hong Kong are listed below.
Step 1: Know Your Customer
Prior to the incorporation of a local limited company in Hong Kong, it is required to perform Know Your Customer (KYC) checks under the Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism requirements.
Anyone who has completed the Know Your Customer records checking process will have the right to register Hong Kong companies and enjoy the financial benefits of a local company.
Besides, it is required to provide a certified true copy of identification documents (like the passport) and address proof of officers and owners of the company. The officers are the director(s) and the owners are the shareholder(s), beneficial owner(s), and significant controller(s) who holds, directly or indirectly, more than 25% of the issued shares in the company, is a significant controller.
Step 2: Company formation
Company formation in Hong Kong is simple with these steps. At first, you must select a company name. A quick search through the Companies Registry will show if your intended name is in use or not.
The minimum requirements for Hong Kong companies are:
- at least one shareholder,
- at least one individual director,
- a minimum of $1 HKD of share capital,
- a company secretary who resides in Hong Kong,
- a local office address; and
- a specific business activity for the proposed company
After completing the name search, and confirming the rest of the information, there is a list of incorporation forms and copies to submit along with your application to the Companies Registry and Business Registration Office.
That could take up to 7 to 14 working days to receive your certificate of incorporation.
If the company structure is simple (i.e., individual director and individual shareholder), the process can be done online with the e-incorporation. That could take up to 2-3 working days to receive your certificate of incorporation.
Step 3: Business account opening
There are 2 approaches to opening an account in Hong Kong and many choices – either with traditional banks such as DBS, OCBC, etc or online business accounts solutions. Both approaches vary slightly as traditional banks value in-person meetings and offer credit features such as loans and credit cards. On the other hand, virtual accounts allow for faster processes and more digital features.
Understanding if a digital signature or e-signature is possible to open a company in Hong Kong
Below is a table showing which documents are acceptable by e-signature or wet signature:
| E-signature requirements through each step | E-Signature | Wet-ink Signature |
|---|---|---|
| Step 1: Know Your Customer (KYC) Forms | ✅ | |
| Step 2: Simple company structure (i.e., individual director and individual shareholder) | ✅ | |
| Step 2: Complex company structure (i.e., with any corporate shareholder) | ✅ | |
| Step 3: Traditional Banks account opening | ✅ | |
| Step 3: Online Business account opening | ✅ |
Eventually, both the wet-ink signature and e-signature can be done from outside of Hong Kong. In the case of wet-ink signature, documents will require to be posted through mail.
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