Hong Kong Incorporation Considerations
Friday, January 11th, 2008There are several issues one should consider before incorporating a Hong Kong company and opening a business bank account with it:
- Do you plan to visit Hong Kong? If not, then you cannot open a bank account here. Most banks, such as the HSBC and the Hang Seng Bank, require clients to personally show up at the bank in order to open a bank account.
- How long will you stay? If you just stay in Hong Kong for one day, then HSBC will be your only choice. If you plan to stay here for a month, then the Hang Seng Bank will also be available. It is because HSBC is the only bank that will send the e-banking kit.
- Tailor-made or pre-formed shelf company? For a tailor-made company, you can make up the company name, however, you need:
- to use PayPal or T/T to make the payment, since the incorporation process takes about 4 working days to complete. Unless you plan to stay in Hong Kong during the incorporation process (which is not necessary), you should come after the company is incorporated.
- a witness, so you need to find a friend or relative who is not a director or shareholder of the company, to sign the Memorandum and Articles of Association (M&A).
- to mail the signed documents back to us. We will submit the signed documents to the government in one working day after we receive them. And the company will be incorporated in 4 working days after submission. You don’t need to pay us before we receive the documents. More about our self-serve incorporation service
Planning is easier if you buy a shelf company, but you cannot create the name of the company. Also the M&A booklets will not have your name on it. You can have a pre-formed company and open a bank account in 3 days:
- On the first day, you pay us. If you pay us ahead, then you can save a trip to our office.
- On the second day, you sign the documents.
- On the third day, you meet with the bank representative.
That is. No witness is needed, and you can also pay us in cash. However we do recommend you to give yourself and us one or two days or margin in case anything goes wrong. Latest shelf companies list
- Can you provide residential proof? You need to provide us a document (such as a phone bill) that has your name and residential address on it. If the name and address are not in English, you need to type in the name and address exactly as they appear on the document, and email them back to us and we will do translation on them. We will also need your name and address in English for comparison.
- Will you provide business proof? While the bank will let you sign the account application form, your account will not be activated until you submit business proofs such as contracts, leases, invoices that have the name of the company. The HSBC allows their clients to submit the proof within two weeks after account application. More about business proof
Contact us if you have more questions.