Offshore Companies

Beijing Retail assists individuals and private firms with offshore incorporation. Currently, Beijing Retail provides services in the below jurisdictions:

• Hong Kong
• Singapore
• British Virgin Islands
• Bahamas
• Bermuda
• Jersey
• Marshall Island
• Cayman Islands

Registering an offshore company (a.k.a. “non-resident company”) is an easy and quick process that has many advantages. Contrary to popular belief, offshore companies are not the illegal hideaways. Instead, depending on which jurisdiction you choose, the legal benefits of an offshore company can include:

• Beneficiary taxation (VAT exemption, stamp duty, dividend taxation, etc.)
• Low operation costs
• Asset protection (against spouse, lawsuits, etc.)
• Bank privacy
• Asset transfer
• Privacy (anonymity)
• Profit maximization
• Company structuring
• Foreign property holdings
• Limited liability in business transactions
• Unrestricted capital flow

As China becomes the business center of Asia, more and more companies will establish their Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) in Hong Kong as a gateway to Mainland China. Hong Kong, a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China, maintains its own jurisdiction with separate taxation laws. Hong Kong is not only one of the major trading and financial centers of Asia, but it is also one of the quickest locations to incorporate a business. Forbes and the US based Heritage Foundation has recognized Hong Kong as one of the world’s freest economy over the past 10 years.

Global investors favor Hong Kong because of its political stability, established legal system, simplified and favorable tax environment, well-equipped infrastructure, free flow of information and communication, free trade and open markets, few trade barriers, absent quotas, lack of foreign exchange controls, and high-quality professionalism.

CHARACTERISTICS OF AN OFFSHORE COMPANY IN HONG KONG

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

Director and Shareholders Must have at least one Director and shareholder from any nationality (individual over 18 years old or corporation).

Company Secretary The company Secretary should be a Hong Kong ID card holder or corporation.

Registration Address The registered address of your Hong Kong company must be in Hong Kong.

HONG KONG (OFFSHORE) SETUP FLOW CHART

Register with the Company Registry of Hong Kong
(Name approval)

Register with the Inland Revenue Department of Hong Kong

Register with the Printing Department of
Hong Kong

Make chops and seals

Prepare accounting documents

Register address with telephone and fax numbers

Open bank account

Note: Establishing a company in Hong Kong should take no more than 2 weeks (in addition to the additional 2 weeks for opening a bank account). A popular solution for even faster incorporation is creating a “shelf company”. Shelf companies have not traded since incorporation and therefore carry no liabilities. A shelf company can be acquired within 2 working days.

CLIENT DOCUMENTS REQUIRED

• Chinese and English names of the company
• ID cards or copies of passports with the residential addresses of all shareholders and directors
• Registered address of the company (if unavailable, Beijing Retail can help)