Being one of the most popular business hubs in the world, it is no surprise that Hong Kong offers many business opportunities with its strategic location and support for companies' growth. The Hong Kong Government provides many types of funding schemes for start-ups and small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs) enabling them to enhance their competitiveness in diverse markets.  

The Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales (BUD Fund) is one to consider if you are a business owner who is looking to make a mark outside of Hong Kong and achieve your business goals (in markets which have signed Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and/ or Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements (IPPAs) with Hong Kong).  

Here are the areas you need to consider when applying for the BUD Fund:

Decide on your project 

Identify the project and which market you will be targeting to show the enterprise’s development in it. Bear in mind funding is given to support non-listed Hong Kong enterprises to undertake projects to develop brands, upgrade their business operations, and promote sales in mainland China, FTA and/ or IPPA markets.  

Eligibility criteria 

To be eligible, the project must fulfil at least one of the following: 

• Development or enhancement of the brand e.g. brand building, brand strategy and positioning¹
• Improvement initiatives for business transformation e.g. product innovation and repositioning, technology upgrading² 
• Development and enhancement of effective sales activities e.g. domestic sales planning, domestic business operation management³

Proposal  

Prepare a project proposal that covers details such as objectives, timeline, budget, and expected outcomes. The application can be submitted to the BUD Fund Implementer at any time of the year, and once submitted, the  Implementer will review the application within 60 working days from the date of receipt. Some applications may require supporting documentation and the actual processing time will depend on the complexity and completion of each application. .  

Bridges’ knowledgeable and experienced team can assist with your application. If you would like to discuss your specific circumstances or are interested in applying, please contact our team at +852 2159 9666 or via info@bridges.hk.  

Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary, Paul Chan, delivered the 2023-24 Budget on 22 February with all eyes on how the government is going to lead the city on the way to economic recovery and reinforce its position as the top-tier financial centre.

To assist small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Hong Kong to secure their footing, the government will further extend the enterprise loan under the SME Financing Guarantee Scheme (SFGS) along with other measures to attract overseas companies to invest and re-domicile in the city. Some key points are outlined as below.

• Reduced profit tax and salary tax and for the year of 2022-23 by 100 percent, capping at HK$6,000 to ease business operation and livelihood pressure
   
• Extended the application period of all guaranteed products of SFGS (SME Financing Guarantee Scheme) to end of March 2024, to give SMEs more room to adjust and secure a firm footing
   
• Aiding digital transformation for SMEs by reserving HK$500 million to launch a Digital Transformation Support Pilot Programme to provide one-to-one matching basis for SMEs to facilitate their business digitalisation
   
• Allocated HK$100 million to to support the Hong Kong Productivity Council, which has various government subsidies for SMEs to apply for, such as:

  1. Export Marketing Fund – for SMEs participating in export promotion activities and expanding to overseas markets

  2. Technology Voucher Programme - for SMEs to improve business processes by adopting technological solutions

  3. Enterprise support scheme - for SMEs to conduct in-house research and development to encourage investment from the private sector

If you have any questions regarding how the Budget might affect your business operation or tax issues, contact us at +852 2159 9666 or via info@bridges.hk to chat with our in-house experts.

A new inspection regime for personal information on the Companies Register has been carried out in August 2021 by the Companies Registry. The full residential address and ID number of directors (the “Information”) of Hong Kong limited companies are no longer accessible to the public. The full implementation is divided into three phases, as in the first phase, companies are now allowed and encouraged to replace theirs with correspondence addresses and partial ID numbers for public inspection. To give you a better understanding, the following article has summarised the takeaways of the regime.

Overview

Since the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 622) was passed in 2012, some raised concerns regarding the Register containing personal information like the usual residential address (“URAs”) and full identification number (“IDNs”) of the companies’ directors are available for public inspection.

Therefore the new inspection regime is designed to provide protection to company directors, company secretaries and other relevant individuals, where URAs will be replaced by correspondence address and partial IDNs. And the Information would only be accessible for “specified people” upon application.

Timeframe

a) Phase 1 (already implemented in August 2021)

Companies could replace their URAs and IDNs with correspondence addresses and partial ID numbers for public inspection.

b) Phase 2 (from 24 October 2022)

Full personal information (“ Protected Information”) on the Register will be replaced by correspondence addresses and partial IDNs for public inspection. Only ‘specified persons’ will be permitted to apply to the Registry for access to ‘Protected Information’ of directors and other persons.

c) Phase 3 (from 27 December 2023)

Data subjects could apply to the Registry for protecting from public inspection their Protected Information contained in documents registered with the Registry (“Withheld Information”), and replace such information with their correspondence addresses and partial IDNs. “Specified persons” could apply to the Registry for access to Withheld Information of directors and other persons,

What can you do?

It is up to you to choose whether to change your URAs to a correspondence address or not, but we truly recommend those who value their privacy to take immediate action. For Bridges’ existing clients who are affected by the revised regime mentioned above, our company secretary team has already reached out and proposed actions. If you are not using Bridges’ service, yet are interested in knowing more about how to protect your privacy and personal data promptly, please reach us by calling +852 2159 9666 or emailing info@bridges.hk.