What's the difference between Business Registration Certificate 9BR) and Certificate of Incorporation (CI)?

• BR is obtained via the Business Register under the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) of Hong Kong. It is a document that shows a company is valid and legally registered. It should be displayed at the company’s premises and be renewed every year.
• As for CI, it is issued by Company Registry which includes information of registration number, certificate type, official company name and establishment date. However, only limited companies are issued with this certificate.

What is HK’s corporate tax rate?

• From 2018/19 onwards, the profits tax rate for the first $2 million of profits will be lowered 8.25%, and standard tax rate at 16.5% will be kept for profits exceeding that amount. 
• Check out all the tax rates in HK given by our on-site tax advisors.

Do I need to be present in Hong Kong for bank account opening?

• The majority of conventional banks do require the director(s) and shareholder(s) of the company to be physically present in HK to meet up. However, some of the banks such as HSBC, DBS are offering special arrangements catering to the COVID-19 restrictions. Check out HK bank account opening special arrangements.
• Our fintech / online payment platforms partners offer multi-currency accounts for companies to settle transactions with conventional banks globally, which can be applied online without a physical presence. 

What other offshore jurisdictions can I consider?

• Other than HK, you may consider Singapore, Seychelles, BVI, Marshall Islands, Cayman Islands, etc. as your offshore company’s jurisdiction, and open a HK bank account here with these entities (the account opening criteria could be different case by case). 
• We have some jurisdiction comparisons for you to consider, like Hong Kong vs. Singapore, or Seychelles vs. BVI. 
• Here is a clear table summarising HK and offshore companies’ various aspects such as reputation standing, taxation, privacy protection, etc. for your comparison too.