Registration of a Hong Kong Branch Office
If a company incorporated
outside Hong Kong establishes a place of business in Hong Kong, it must
register with the Companies Registry as a ‘Registered Non-Hong Kong Company’,
otherwise known as a branch office, within one month of establishment.
Unlike a limited company,
a branch office is not a separate legal entity from its headquarter. Thus, for
the registration of a non-Hong Kong company, the corporate particulars in its
home jurisdiction will be entered into the Companies Registry in Hong Kong as well.
A branch office can leverage the headquarter’s credit rating and reputation.
A Hong Kong branch office must appoint at least
one person ordinarily residing in Hong Kong authorized to accept legal notices
served on the company.
Corporate Compliance
A registered Non-Hong Kong
Company is required to notify the Companies Registry in the event of any
changes to its registration details in its home jurisdiction as well as to file
an Annual Return. If the company is required by law of its home jurisdiction or
regulation by a governing body or stock exchange to publish or otherwise make
its accounts accessible to the public, such accounts have to be delivered with
the Annual Return to the Hong Kong Companies Registry. In any other case, there
is no requirement for branch offices to be audited.
For the purpose of filing
a tax return however, a branch office must still deliver to the Inland Revenue
Department (IRD) audited financial statements or certified financial statement
in case an audit is not required and financial and accounting records relating
to the Hong Kong branch office.
Our business compliance
services take care of the administrative and compliance functions of a branch
office. Our services include:
